
f iass \- Co fe 



Book. 



"O 



^L 



G .".tN». 



COPN"KlGHT DEPOSIT. 




DR. CHARLES EASTMAN 

son of a Dakota Indian who died fighting the whites in 1862, 

in native costume. 



The 

STORY OF MINNESOTA 



BY 



E. DUDLEY PARSONS 

INSTRUCTOR IN ENGLISH. WEST HIGH SCHOOL 
MINNEAPOLIS. MINNESOTA 

Member Minnesota Historical Society 




AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 

CINCINNATI CHICAGO 



NEW YORK 



ris 



Copyright, 1916, by 
E. DUDLEY PARSONS 

E. P. I 



NOV k9i9l6 



CI.A44r>644 



PREFACE 

This book aims to place before the children of the state the 
romantic tale of the wilderness conquered, of brave men and 
patient organizers, of faith in the midst of hardship, and of the 
final triumph that has made Minnesota a commonwealth in 
which her citizens are proud to live. In relating the story of 
the development, it has been necessary to include some matters 
that are hard to associate in an interesting manner ; but it is 
presumed that the modern pupil, as well as the modern teacher, 
knows how to make every subject yield interest. To assist 
discussion there have been appended to each chapter a few 
suggestive questions. The tables of statistics are intended to 
be used as illustrations, and for occasional reference only. The 
author dares to hope that he has transmitted some of the en- 
joyment with which he has read the accounts of adventure, 
exploitation, pioneer struggle, political contest, and earnest 
endeavor, that are the sources of his information ; if he has, he 
is rewarded for his pains. 

Thanks is given to Mr. Warren Upham and his assistants in 
the library of the Minnesota Historical Society for their constant 
courtesy; to Mr. Albert J. Lobb and Miss Amanda Sundean, 
of the West High School, for much helpful criticism ; to Mr. 
Edward Bromley, for his care in selecting pictures for the book ; 
and to Mr. Charles W. Jerome. To him in appreciation for 
years of friendly sympathy, "The Story of Minnesota" is 

gratefully dedicated. 

E. D. P. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Radisson's Journeys into Minnesota ... 9 

II. Other French Explorers 18 

III. Minnesota under English Rule .... 34 

IV. From Savagery to Civilization 41 

V. Fort Snelling 53 

VI. Scientific Exploration 65 

VII. Missionaries and Traders 75 

VIII. River Settlements and the Territory . . 87 

IX. Settlers and Speculators 107 

X. Settling the Indian Country 115 

XL The Young State 130 

XII. General Development 141 

XIII. Causes of the Indian Rebellion . . . . 151 

XIV. Indians on the Warpath 162 

XV. Minnesota in the Civil War 176 

XVI. Trials of the Pioneers 186 

XVII. The Railroads . 200 

XVIII. A Wider Horizon 213 

XIX. A Wider Horizon — Continued 231 

XX. A Great Commonwealth 243 

XXI. Wood and Iron 256 

XXII. Commercial Power 266 

XXIII. Conservation of People 273 

XXIV. Art in Minnesota 285 

6 



CONTENTS 7 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XXV. How Localities Are Governed .... 292 

XXVI. The State Government 306 

XXVII. Duties of Citizens 320 

Dates Important to Remember 327 

Governors and United States Senators 329 

Index 330 



THE STORY OF MINNESOTA 

CHAPTER I 

RADISSON'S JOURNEYS INTO MINNESOTA 

Theories of early discovery. — In 1908 a stone marked 
with pecuHar characters called runes was dug up on a farm 
near Kensington, Minnesota. According to some people 
this stone proves that the Norsemen, who used to mark their 
journeys by this means, visited there, and perished among 
the Indians four hundred years before Columbus arrived 
at San Salvador. Others insist that Welshmen made their 
way through the thick woods of the southland and up the 
Mississippi and Missouri rivers to the Dakota plains. 
There, mingling with the Dakotas, or Sioux, they became 
the ancestors of the Mandans. The latter historians base 
their assertion upon similarities between the Welsh and 
Mandan languages, and upon the superiority of the Mandan 
civilization to that of the Sioux. 

If these Welshmen did reach Dakota, they probably 
hunted buffaloes within the present state of Minnesota, 
but both theories remain to be proved, and it is certain 
that the second never will be. Indeed, there is no evidence 
that a white man stepped within the borders of Minnesota 
before the time of Radisson ^ and Groseilliers.^ 

^ ra des son' ^ gros se lur' 

9 



lO RADISSON'S JOURNEYS INTO MINNESOTA 

Radisson's account typical. — He who reads Pierre Radis- 
son's account of his hfe knows something of the trials of 
the pioneers in Minnesota. Radisson's life is the open- 
ing tale of nearly two centuries of conquest. That con- 
quest completed, Indian and trapper and boatman had 
passed forever ; but they had beaten pathways over a 
tract of land large enough to provide every man, woman, 
and child in the United States, Porto Rico, Hawaii, and 
the Philippine Islands a half acre. It is a tale of sacrifice 
and endurance on the part of pioneers, until beaver and 
buffalo and bear gave way to cattle and hogs and horses ; 
until " the bread and butter state " became a common- 
wealth where the fine arts find a ready welcome. 

Radisson captured. — From Radisson's account we learn 
that when he was about eighteen years old the Iroquois 
Indians descended upon his home in Ontario and captured 
him, together with a score of others. He was put to the 
most severe tortures. He was bound to a pole, in order 
that the thunderstorm, mosquitoes, the red-hot iron, .and 
the firebrand might fully test his endurance. His fingers 
were bitten, his nails were torn out with pincers, and some 
of his teeth were knocked out. All this was done so that a 
chief, who had taken a fancy to him, might win for him the 
right to sit by the council fire, where only brave men were 
allowed to sit. 

For a year the French lad remained with the chief who 
had adopted him. His squaw " mother " and his dusky 
" sisters " became very fond of him. They were proud of 
his ability as a hunter and a fighter, — for he had to go to 
war with his tribe. In fact, he found it not altogether easy 
to leave them. However, his love for his own people tri- 
umphed, and one day he escaped and returned home. 



RADISSON'S JOURNEYS INTO MINNESOTA 



II 




Radisson and Groseilliers with the Indians. 



He goes west again. — Radisson was, however, ready to 
plunge again into unknown dangers. We read with inter- 
est of his inducing his brother-in-law, Medard Groseilhers, 
to accompany him on a long journey after valuable furs, 
to a Frenchman what the gold of Eldorado was to the 
Spaniard. 

Meeting the Indians. — In 1655 the two Frenchmen left 
what is now Green Bay, Wisconsin. They traveled by way 
of the Fox, Wisconsin, and Mississippi rivers to Prairie 
Island near Red Wing. On this island Groseilliers taught 
the Ottawa Indians, who had fled thither from their Iroquois 
pursuers, the mystery of corn growing, as he had learned it 
from the Hurons. From this island Radisson went forth 



12 



RADISSON'S JOURNEYS INTO MINNESOTA 



to hunt. In the late spring of 1656, the two here convened 
a great council of Dakotas, or Sioux, the " nation of the 
beef," as the white men called them, perhaps eight hundred 
in all. They earnestly pleaded that the Dakotas make the 

pilgrimage to Mont- 
real, there to enter 
into a trading alli- 
ance with their 
French brothers. 

The result was 
that a hundred and 
fifty canoes of valu- 
able furs bought of 
the western Indians 
for a few pounds of 
powder and shot, a 
few baubles, and a 
great many gracious 
words, passed down 
the rivers and over 
the portage to the 
French capital of 
Canada. They 
were accompanied 
by some of the 
" Iroquois of the 
West," the fierce Nadouissioux or "enemies," as they were 
called by other Indians. 

Famine. — Four years later the two Frenchmen again 
met the Indians, — the Chippewas, Crees, and Ottawas 
in northern Wisconsin, the Dakotas near Mille Lacs. At 
this meeting they still further advanced the cause of trade. 




RADISSON'S JOURNEYS INTO MINNESOTA 



13 



The agonies they endured in that winter of 1659, Radis- 
son has left indeUbly impressed on the pages of Minne- 
sota history. A time of famine followed a period of biting 
cold. It left five hundred Indians stretched dead in the 
snow, and forced the survivors to eat stale bones, ground 
and boiled to obtain the marrow ; to strip the bark from 
trees and the moss from rocks, and even to burn the fur 
from filthy beaver skins and boil these for soup. What 
horror of travel through the swamps and brush of dismal 
forests ! Radisson fell through a hole in the ice and nearly 
froze his feet, but he stumbled on, until rescue was at hand. 
We turn from the record feeling that although Minnesota 




Fur traders and Indians. 



was only visited, not developed by such men, we may well 
be stirred by their bravery and endurance. 



14 RADISSON'S JOURNEYS INTO MINNESOTA 

Indian tribes. — Radisson found in Minnesota the tribes 
of Indians that were to be studied later by scientists and 
missionaries. The Sioux, who, until the whites dispossessed 
them, remained enemies of the Chippewas or Ojibwas, 
ranged the prairies in search of buffaloes during the sum- 
mer and sought the shelter of the timber during the winter. 
They did not penetrate farther north than the Mille Lacs 
country, nor farther east than the timber line that parallels 
the Red River. They had relatives, however, the Assini- 
boins, along the lower Red and Assiniboine rivers. Through 
the great forest country proper, the Chippewas, now con- 
fined to two reservations, hunted and fished. Radisson 
tried to make peace between these two nations, so that 
they would continue to furnish the French the coveted 
beaver skins, but, like later diplomats, he made little im- 
pression upon them. 

A hunter's paradise. — Radisson found Minnesota a 
hunter's delight. He speaks of seeing '' three hundred 
bears together from the forest," and great herds of eland 
(moose). He remarks interestingly upon the buffalo, or 

buff," as he terms it, saying : 

The horns of a buff are as those of an ox, but not so 
long, but bigger and of a blackish color ; he has a very 
long blackish tail ; he is reddish, his hair frizzed and very 
fine. They come not up to the upper lake but by chance. 
It is a pleasure to find the place of their abode, for they 
turn around compassing two or three acres of land, beating 
the snow with their feet ; and coming to the center they 
lie down and rise again to eat the boughs of trees they can 
reach." 

He speaks of killing '' several other beasts, — stags, wild 
cows, caribou, fallow does and bucks, mountain cats, child 






RADISSON'S JOURNEYS INTO MINNESOTA 



15 



of the devil." He made his first snowshoes, which he calls 
" rackets," in order to follow this game. '' In a word," 
he says, '' we lead a good life." 

Radisson's house. — He took great pleasure in his home 
at Fond du Lac, the harbor of which he describes thus : 
'' It is like a great portal ; by reason of the beating of the 
waves the lower part of 
the opening is as big 
as a tower and grows 
bigger in the going 
up. 

Near Fond du Lac, 
on the south shore of 
Lake Superior, he built 
a house, the door of 
which faced the lake. 
In the middle was his 
fire and on the right 
side his bed. All about 
the house were some 
boughs of trees " laid 
one across another." 
Besides these boughs he had " a long cord tied with some 
small bells." This protection against attack was reenforced 
by an armament of '' 3 musquetons, 3 fowling-pieces, 3 paire 
of great pistollettes, a paire of pocket ones, and every man 
his sword and dagger." He defends this care with the ob- 
servation that " distrust is the mother of safety, and the 
occasion makes the thief." Thus fortified, Radisson and 
his companion made some *' creatures whistling like gos- 
lings, thinking to frighten them," hear " another music 
than theirs," and " caused the life " of a great many foxes 




Radisson's house. 



i6 



RADISSON'S JOURNEYS INTO MINNESOTA 



to whom they declared themselves enemies. Radisson 
says that they felt ^' like Caesars," there being " no one 
to contradict " them. 

Meeting the Dakotas. — Before returning from this 
second visit the two Frenchmen held a great council with 
the '' nation of the beef," or Dakotas, Mr. Warren Upham 

thinks somewhere in Kan- 
abec County. They of- 
fered presents of kettles, 
hatchets, knives, and a 
sword blade. They made 
a feast, to suggest that 
the Dakotas strengthen 
themselves with the 
French, of whose great- 
ness they spoke long. 
They shrewdly gave the 
Indians needles with 
which to make the beaver 
robes coveted by the 
French. Radisson says 
in this connection that 
" among such a rowish 
people a gift is much." To enforce the alliance, remem- 
bering his experience among the Iroquois, Radisson adopted 
a family for his own. The Frenchmen threw powder into 
the lire, which, flashing up, made a " magical flame " that 
frightened the simple children of the forest. These things, 
with dancing and games which included climbing a greased 
pole and playing at war, made intercourse with the beef- 
eaters easy. That the strain of entertainment and socia- 
bility was not too great for the Frenchmen we learn from 




Indian tepee. 



RADISSON'S JOURNEYS INTO MINNESOTA 17 

Radisson's exclamation: ''What is it that a man cannot 
do when he sees that it concerns his Hfe that one day he 
must lose?" 

Result of the journey. — During that year of 1660, 
twenty years before Hennepin saw the falls, the two sturdy 
Frenchmen made their way in safety back to the settle- 
ments. Later they entered the employ of the Hudson's 
Bay Company. They had pointed out a way whereby 
much wealth in furs could be carried from Minnesota to 
Montreal, and they had proved once more the ability of 
Frenchmen to manage Indians for commercial gain. 

SUMMARY 

Radisson's story of his trip to Minnesota is important. 
It shows the character of the man. 
It shows the hardships that the explorer suffered. 
It gives a vivid picture of the Indians as they appeared to the 
French. 

QUESTIONS 

1. How does the character of Radisson differ from that of Groseil- 
liers ? 

2. How did Radisson make friends with the Indians? 

3. What qualities, other than bravery, are required for the work 
that Radisson performed? 

REFERENCES 

My Friend the Indian. — Major James McLaughlin. 

Voyages. — Pierre Radisson. 

Minnesota in Three Centuries. — Warren Upham. 

Groseilliers and Radisson, the First White Men in Minnesota. — 

Warren Upham, Minnesota Historical Society Papers, Vol. 70. 
Pathfinders of the West. — Agnes Laut 
Minnesota, the North Star State. — William W. Folwcll. 

STORY OF MINN. — 2 



CHAPTER II 
OTHER FRENCH EXPLORERS 

Sioux and Chippewas. — After Radisson and Groseil- 
liers left, the wilderness of Minnesota knew once more only 
its native Chippewas and Sioux. It was many years before 
another white man ventured so far westward. The Chip- 
pewas were confined largely to what is now known as north- 
ern Minnesota. West of them were the Assiniboins, or 
^' Sioux of the Woods/' who, aroused by some affront to 
their dignity, had turned away from the main body of 
their people. In that portion of the state south of a line 
drawn through Brainerd, the Sioux proper, or Dakotas 
as they called themselves, held sway. They were divided 
into five bands, each with its individual character but 
ready to intermarry with another band, and all allied against 
the common foe, the hated and despised Chippewas, or 
Ojibwas, of the north. They were the Mdewakanton,^ 
Wahpekute,^ Wahpeton, Sisseton, and Yankton tribes. 

Beyond these bands, riding the prairies stretching away 
to the Missouri, was another Sioux division that sometimes 
visited Alinnesota territory, the Tetons. The Dakotas 
of the district we are discussing had dispossessed the lowas 
and Omahas of lands beyond the Minnesota River. When 
the French began to communicate with the Dakotas, they 
were supreme over the entire southern half of the state, 

^ m'da wa' kaN Ion' 2 ^a,h pe ku'te 

18 



OTHER FRENCH EXPLORERS 



19 



the Mdewakantons and Wahpekutes holding the eastern 
part. 

When, however, the Chippewas had mastered the white 
man's firearms, they were more than a match for even the 
fierce Dakota arrow, which could sink its flint point into 
a buffalo's heart while the brave behind it was riding full 
speed alongside the animal, or pass through a man's neck 




Buffaloes, from an old picture. 



at more than a hundred paces. The arrow was made 
with infinite pains. The head, hammered into perfect 
shape with incredible skill, was fastened on a carefully 
chosen shaft with the sinew of a muskrat's tail. It was 
crowned with feathers to guide its flight to the mark. The 
lead bullet, however, chewed to fit the gun as the Indian 
walked, was not to be diverted from its course by branches 
of trees, and was much cheaper than the arrow. 



20 OTHER FRENCH EXPLORERS 

Therefore Mille Lacs, the hereditary home of the eastern 
bands, was lost to the Dakotas forever, and by' 1840 the 
Minnesota River had become their northern boundary Hne. 
Just one hundred years earUer the Lake Minnetonka country 
had been their stronghold. But although the Dakotas 
claimed the land to the present Iowa border, fear of the Sacs 
kept them close to the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers. 

Pond's views on the Dakotas. — Mr. Samuel W. Pond, 
the missionary, has left an account of the Dakotas which 
is probably more reliable than any other, for the author 
was a man of strict truthfulness and was actuated by no 
motive save to give information. He tells us that far 
from being an idler the Indian was a stalwart workman, 
laboring to provide his family meat and clothes and 
shelter, in all weathers and under great adversity. 

When game was scarce or shy, the hunter was forced 
to endure terrible rigors before he filled his bag. Or his 
enemies might appear in the midst of a busy season and 
force him to leave his work. He could not keep clean, 
because the pressure of his life left him no opportunity 
to change his clothes or choose his food. He could not 
be provident, because he had no method of keeping meat. 
The supply of wild rice and fruit and vegetables was limited. 
His range was so wide that he could carry only the essen- 
tials of his life, — tent, weapons, and robes. He expected 
his squaw to cut wood, care for the tent, and carry the bag- 
gage, for the same reason that a white man often expects 
his wife to do washing and other housework, — simply 
because his daily business forbids his helping her. except 
occasionally. Of course there were lazy Indians, as there 
are lazy white men, but these were looked upon by the tribe 
as contemptuously as are the drones of civilization. 



OTHER FRENCH EXPLORERS 21 

The Dakotas' morals. — As to conduct, it was perhaps 
as strict among Indians as it is among white people. The 
things forbidden by the Ten Commandments were for- 
bidden by the Indians. Sometimes a wealthy Indian had 
more than one wife ; but until the white man taught him 
to be dissolute and drunken, the Indian was noble in his 
manhood physically and morally, even if he did wage a 
relentless and savage warfare against the enemy of his 
tribe. He fought under the protection of the Great Spirit. 
He believed himself bound to take as many scalps as 
possible, with as little damage as possible to himself. 
Those who could not obey this tribal law were made out- 
casts. The Dakotas were generally considered braver 
and nobler than the Chippewas, although some travelers, 
especially those critics who were victimized in the great 
Dakota rebellion of 1862, are not disposed towards this view. 

GilfiUan's judgment of the Chippewa. — Of the Chip- 
pewas, Rev. James Gilfillan, a missionary among them 
for twenty years, speaks with enthusiasm. He says that 
he considers their men the most intellectual he has ever 
met. They have the ability to see through a new matter 
quickly, and to make an explanation of it or to express 
an opinion about it logically. He, too, has a high regard 
for the home life of the Indian. He considers it remark- 
able that people living as they did when he knew them, 
could manage to train their children so well. He asserts 
that the Chippewa mother was a good cook, that he had 
never met a white woman who could cook, fish especially, 
as well. The hospitality which admitted the stranger 
to the family circle, and fed and clothed the needy, moved 
him to admiration no less than the rigor of the labors of 
the Chippewas to withstand famine and cold. 



22 



OTHER FRENCH EXPLORERS 



Dr. Eastman's account. — It may be well to include with 
these witnesses Dr. Charles Eastman, himself a full-blooded 
Dakota, son of a warrior who died fighting the whites in 
1862. He declares that in becoming civilized he has lost 

the benefit of cer- 
tain virtues which 
he does not see 
practiced among the 
whites as much as 
they were among 
his own people. He 
mentions the strict 
honesty with which 
all tribal property 
was used ; the vir- 
tue that guarded 
young people ; and 
the reverence that 
made the father and 
mother real leaders 
of their children, 
and the old men 
the head of the 
Indian state. 

Whether these men are prejudiced in favor of the 
Indians or not, it is refreshing to read their testimony, after 
studying the bloody and treacherous characters given to 
Indians by the men who were interested chiefly in conquer- 
ing them. 

Hennepin's discovery. — The French appreciated the 
trade with these first Minnesotans too much to forget 
them. So we find La Salle in 1680 setting out to establish 




Dr. Charles Eastman. 



OTHER FRENCH EXPLORERS 



23 



French power on the Mississippi, to make an entrance to 
the Indian country. With him was the famous Father 
Hennepin. La Salle sent Father Hennepin and two other 
Frenchmen up the river. They had not gone far when 
they met a war party 
of Dakotas who took 
them in charge. 
These Indians treated 
them rather roughly, 
for they took the 
clothing of the 
Frenchmen and made 
them walk overland, 
from a point below 
St. Paul to Mille 
Lacs. Yet the pres- 
ents made by the 
priest assuaged their 
anger and stilled the 
whispers of those 
who wanted to ^' kill 
the white man." 

The Frenchmen 
survived the scoffs, 
the torture of the 
long walk, and even 
the hot baths and rubbing given them on their arrival ; and 
they were allowed to depart the following spring. On the 
way down the river Hennepin gave the name St. Anthony 
to the famous falls which have made the metropolis of our 
state out of '^ a few coarse cabins about a mudhole," — 
the city of Laughing Water. 




Monument to La Salle, in Lincoln Park, 
Chicago. 



24 



OTHER FRENCH EXPLORERS 




;z; 

o 

a 

H 

< 

CO 

CO 

h-l 

M 

a 

H 
en 

< 
2 



w 
a 

H 



OTHER FRENCH EXPLORERS 25 

Du Luth meets Hennepin. — When Father Hennepin 
was returning to La Salle, to follow his own statement, 
he was overtaken by Du Luth. According to Du Luth, 
on the other hand, we learn that the latter rescued the priest 
from the Indians. Whatever the truth, we can feel sure 
that the adventurous priest was overjoyed to talk with a 
fellow countryman ; and the fact that Du Luth turned so 
far out of his way to find him is sufficient to prove his own 
desire. 

The Sieur Du Luth had come to Fond du Lac the year 
before, and had traded there with both Chippewas and 
Dakotas. In his journal he writes, " On the second of 
July, 1679, I had the honor to display His Majesty's arms 
in the great village of Izatys on Mille Lacs, where never 
had a Frenchman been." 

At a conference held here the Assiniboins as well as the 
Dakotas were present. Du Luth's journal gives a fascinat- 
ing account of his dealing with the Indians, and proves 
his right to be remembered in the city that has sounded his 
name over all the earth. 

Settlements on Lake Pepin. — The next point of inter- 
est in the early history of the territory that we call Minne- 
sota centers about Lake Pepin. No one, be he ever so 
widely traveled, passes that magnificent water without 
exclamations of delight. The Indians themselves were 
not insensible to its charms, and came long distances to 
gather on its shores. On a point of the Wisconsin shore 
near the upper extremity we find Nicholas Perrot,^ in 
1685, building Fort St. Antoine. The fort was constructed 
to guard the French boatmen whom he expected to send 
home to Canada, laden with the furs so cheap to the 

^ pe ro 



26 



OTHER FRENCH EXPLORERS 




Nicholas Perrot at Lake Pepin. 



Indians, and so valuable to society. These were chiefly 
beaver skins stitched together in robes, although the bear 
and the buffalo were levied upon for great numbers of hides. 
For a few baubles, a drink or two of the new " fire water," 
a little tobacco, and the priceless powder and lead, the 
Indians would send a man away rich beyond his dreams. 
The Indians would return to the toilsome life in the Min- 
nesota forests, to fight the weather and their hunger until 
the gay Frenchman should once more feed them and dazzle 
them with gifts. 

Perrot was recalled to fight the Senecas. He returned 
four years later with forty men, and took formal possession 
of the upper Mississippi region. He established also the 
fort which developed into Prairie du Chien, later the cap- 
ital and metropolis. 



OTHER FRENCH EXPLORERS 



27 




Le Sueur's men digging the green earth. 



Le Sueur's work. — -In 1695 Pierre Le Sueur, ^ a companion 
of Perrot, made his way from Lake Superior southward 
to an island above Lake Pepin, near the present town of 
Hastings. In his party was Monsieur St. Croix, after 
whom the river which forms part of the eastern boundary 
of the state was named. Le Sueur returned to Montreal 
with the first Dakota chief who had ever visited that place. 
He interested certain people in Paris by his statement that 
he had discovered copper in the Dakota country. 

Copper mining. — Here begins another interesting move- 
ment in Minnesota exploration. Some of Le Sueur's 

^ le soor' 



2S OrilKR FRKNC^H KXPLDRKRS 

Paris trioiuls procured lor ]\\u\ tho opiH>rtiinit)" to accom- 
pan\- Sicuir d'lbcM\ilK\ the first i;o\oriu>r of Louisiana, 
to thr Ha\ of Hiloxi. rhciuc with liis liistorian. Ponicaiilt,^ 
ami twonty inon, Lo Sueur traveled up the Mississii>}>i Ri\er 
in a trade vessel propelled by mirs and sails. On September 
u), 1700, he reaehed the nunith o\ the Minnesota River. 
From this pou\[ he aseended the Minnesota to the Blue 
Karth, and eontinued uj^ the latter ri\er about three miles 
to the stream now ealled Lesueur. There, aeeording to 
IVnieault. he built a fort, the outlines of whieh Mr. Thonuis 
Hughes, of Mankato. has reeenth' traeed. 

From the bank oi the Hlue l^arth Ri\ er. Le Sueur's men 
dug tons oi green, not blue, earth. Vouv thousaml j)ounds 
were loaded into a shallop and shi}>ped to I'ranee. to be 
tested for eoi^jHM-. There it was designated by its true 
name, - i::reen earth. 

Destruction of the fort. Le Sueur went with the 
shallop, leaving twehe men at the fort, whieh was ealled 
L'Huillier.- The men were soon driven away by the Fox 
Indians, who destroyed the fort. The attemj^t to hold the 
count rv for the king of France had failed. 

Penicault's report. If only for Penicault's journal 
the expedition was worth all it cost, lie tells us that the 
Minnesota River froze up late in September, gi\ing the 
party the impression that Minnesota was a frigid country. 
In one day four lunulred butTaloes were killed, and each 
man ate six pounds of meat and four bowls of soup. The 
Sioux brought four hundred beaver robes, each one of 
nine skins. The French sold their wares to the Indians 
at a good price, for they reckoned a pound worth one hun- 
dred crowns, and charged ten crowns for two horn-handled 

'p^n' I CO *le wcl' lya 



r/niKR FRKXCJf KXI'LOKFORS 



29 




knives or for four 
leaden bullets. I'he 
journal wen rc-jiays readinj^. 

Fort Beauharnois. In i 727 another 
trading exj^edition unrJer La lY-rriere ^ 
made the journc-y from (ire(;n Hay to the Mississij)pi and 
up to i^ake Pej>in. A fort was built ujjon its bank, near 
the })res(*nt steamboat lanrling at Frontenac, and named in 
hon(;r of (^ejieral Beauharnois, of the French army. The 
shouts of thf men echoed through the woods, and joyfully 
they bent I0 the task of building houses. They were sur- 
I^rised, the following Aj^ril, to find that the water flooded 
their homes. 

Failure of the French. — Even French adroitness could 
not kecj) the peace between the various tribes of Indians. 



yCr' I 6r 



30 OTHER FRENCH EXPLORERS 

As we have said, the Sioux were continuously at war with 
the Chippewas on the north and the Foxes and Sacs on 
the south. These tribes hated the Winnebagoes, cousins 
to the Sioux, and the Chippewas as well. It was the busi- 
ness of the traders to keep peace so that the Indians might 
bring them the coveted beaver robes. But the Indians 
were so troublesome that after a few years the post was 
abandoned. It was later reopened for a time, then was 
deserted finally in 1 745. In 1 766, Jonathan Carver observed 
the ruins, where, he writes, "It is said the Captain St. 
Pierre carried on a great trade with the Indians, before 
the reduction of Canada." 

Verandrye's journey. — Before we leave the period of 
French exploration we must notice the brave journey of 
Captain' Verandrye, who penetrated westward to the 
Rocky Mountains. His route was along the present 
northern boundary of Minnesota. He built Fort St. 
Pierre on the Minnesota side of Rainy Lake in 1732, and 
farther along the river. Fort St. Charles, a house of four 
rooms surrounded by palisades fifteen feet high. , In 1735 
he constructed Fort Maurepas ^ on Lake Winnipeg. 

His partners at Montreal kept back his provisions, so that 
his party was reduced to one ration a day. By the spring 
of 1736, still receiving no provisions, he was forced to feed 
his little band on parchment, moccasin leather, roots, dogs, 
and whatever else he could scrape together. To add to the 
sorrows of Verandrye, the Sioux killed his son, Jean, and 
some men detached by the captain to go for help. But 
with wise moderation Verandrye kept the Crees from 
waging war in his behalf, and persisted in pushing west- 
ward to the Rockies. On the way he built two more forts, 

1 m6r' pa' 



OTHER FRENCH EXPLORERS 



31 



one on the present site of Winnipeg, and one on the Assini- 
boine River near by. From these forts the first bugle call 
was sounded over the prairies of the west. 

On December 3, 1738, Verandrye was entertained in 
the circular hut of the Mandan chief, and was welcomed 
into protection from the common enemy, the Sioux. From 
there he returned to Montreal by the route over which 
he had come, assured that there was no way open to 
a western sea. He had, however, blazed a path over 
which the Hudson's Bay Company afterwards sent its voy- 
ageurs to the Pacific. On 
the return his party con- 
structed other forts at 
the forks of certain 
Canadian rivers, forts 
which the French had to sur- 
render when the treaty con- 
cluding their war with England 
was signed, in 1763. Veran- 
drye must not be forgotten in 
an estimate of the services of 
the explorers of Minnesota. 

What the French accom- 
plished. — What was the net 
result of this century of ex- 
ploration by the French ? We 
have seen their forts left to 
decay, and their soldiers and 
boatmen withdrawn. They 
had, it is true, won many a load of castor or beaver skins, 
but not a settlement marked their occupation when the 
English obtained possession of the country. They had, 




COUREUR DE BOIS. 



32 OTHER FRENCH EXPLORERS 

however, definite routes into the Indian country, which 
the Enghsh conquerors were glad to follow. They had 
made friendships with the various tribes that the voyageurs 
(boatmen) and coureurs de bois,^ now under the leadership 
of Enghsh captains, could turn to good account. So, 
although it took a century merely to spy out the country, 
the occupation was accomplished under British and Ameri- 
can rule in a half century more. Before the second cen- 
tury after Radisson had closed, the land itself had begun to 

yield wonderfully. 

SUMMARY 

Although the French could not develop Minnesota, they did point 
out the possibilities of the land. 

They made friends with the Indians. 

They opened great water routes to the world. 

They showed how to live in the woods. 
The French explorers were : 

Hennepin, who named St. Anthony Falls in 1680. 

Du Luth, who reached Fond du Lac in 1679-80. 

Perrot, who settled on Lake Pepin in 1685. 

Le Sueur, who built forts on Lake Pepin and the Blue Earth River 
in 1695 and 1700. 

Verandrye, who traveled along the northern boundary in 1732. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Why did the Sioux leave the Mille Lacs country? 

2. What are some of the good qualities of the Indian character? 

3. How was Hennepin received among the Sioux? 

4. What were the prices of furs? 

5. What was the result of the French occupation of Minnesota ? 

REFERENCES 

The Dakotas in Minnesota in 1834. — Samuel W. Pond, Minnesota 
Historical Society Papers, Vol. 6. 

^ koo rur' de bwa' 



OTHER FRENCH EXPLORERS 2>S 

The Ojibwas in Minnesota. — Joseph Giltillan, Minnesota Historical 

Society Papers, Vol. 6. 
The Boyhood of an Indian. — Dr. Charles Eastman, 
The Hennepin Bi-Centennial Celebration. — Minnesota Historical 

Society Papers, Vol. 6. 
History of Duluth and St Louis County. — John Cary, Minnesota 

Historical Society Papers, Vol. lo. 
Minnesota, the North Star State. — William W. Folwell. 
Relation of a Voyage to the Mississippi. — Penicault. 
Le Sueur^s Copper Mine. — Thomas Hughes, Minnesota Historical 

Society Papers, Vol. ij. 



STORY OF MINN. 



CHAPTER III 



MINNESOTA UNDER ENGLISH RULE 



Carver in Minnesota. — Peace between France and 
England had scarcely been concluded when Jonathan Car- 
ver determined to explore the northwest wilderness. He 
was a captain who had proved his worth. In fact he had 

nearly left his scalp in the hands 
of some of the Minnesota Indians 
whom the French had coaxed to 
battle against the New Englanders. 
It was in 1766 that he made his 
way over the then famous Fox- 
Wisconsin route to the Mississippi 
River. On the journey he ob- 
served the ruins of the Pepin 
forts, and he paused to examine 
the cave below St. Paul, whose 
rediscovery in 191 3 has revived 
interest in Jonathan Carver. He 
observed, too, the famous St. 
Anthony Falls, the second white 
man to do so, so far as is known. 
Carver was a real explorer, not a fur seeker. He looked 
to the development of the country rather than its exploita- 
tion. He measured the fall of St. Anthony to ascertain 
its probable power, and he projected a ship canal from Lake 
Superior to the Mississippi. He was pleased at the fertility 

34 




Jonathan Carver. 



MINNESOTA UNDER ENGLISH RULE 



35 




of soil that could 
produce such a vari- 
ety of trees and — ' 

fruit. Moreover he moved among the Indians of all tribes 
tactfully, winning their friendship and learning their ways. 
Only one Indian rejected his offer of friendship, a Chippewa 
who said that the English were " no good." He followed 
the Mississippi as far as the St. Francis River, and the 
Minnesota as far as Big Stone Lake. During a winter 
the mildness of which caused him to declare that the cli- 
mate of Minnesota was much warmer than that of the New 
England States, he lived near Granite Falls in Indian 
fashion. Then he returned east and from there went 
to London. He found the English government glad to 
authorize him to publish the valuable information which 
he had gained. 



36 MINNESOTA UNDER ENGLISH RULE 

The Carver grant. - — One of the most interesting accounts 
in his journal describes a grant of land which two Indian 
chiefs made in his favor, a triangular tract extending from 
the famous cave near what is now St. Paul, down the Mis- 
sissippi to the mouth of the Chippewa, to the headwaters of 
the latter stream, and westward to the Mississippi. His 
heirs have repeatedly tried to recover the land, but it 
seems to have been given to Carver by irresponsible In- 
dians, whose title was absolutely valueless. 

English furriers. — English trade followed the English 
flag, as it has always done. The Hudson's Bay, North- 
western, and Columbia fur companies pressed forward into 
Minnesota during the next quarter of a century. They 
built stations at the most advantageous points, including 
Grand Portage on the northern boundary of Minnesota, 
Sandy Lake (1794) on the upper Mississippi, Pembina 
on the Red River, Lake Traverse, Prairie du Chien on 
the upper Des Moines, Traverse des Sioux, and Lake 
Pepin. The traders were able to bring the Dakotas into 
an alliance with the British, against the Americans, in 
the Revolutionary War. In fact, long after the treaty 
which gave the colonies sovereignty over all the country 
as far west as the Mississippi, the British flag flew from 
these forts, and British ofhcers kept the friendship of 
the Indians. 

Transportation system. — Five great river routes into 
what we now call Minnesota were known by this time. 
First, there was the trail from the head of Lake Superior, 
or Fond du Lac, up the St. Louis River and over portages 
to the lakes of the upper Mississippi. Second, there was 
the Fox- Wisconsin-Mississippi River route, which also led 
into the Minnesota River, and by way of that stream to 



MINNESOTA UNDER ENGLISH RULE 



37 



^:X '•^■'^'y:. 



:-^ 



/=^^'> 






^*'--fc5f^; 



Ii "'"""""•.lilll'lf; 






^£^^^- 









v&< 



Station of the Hudson's Bay Company. 

the extreme western part of the state. Third, there was the 
route of the Des Moines River, which rises in the extreme 
southern part of the state, and guides boatmen to the 
lower Mississippi. Fourth, there was the Red River route, 
by which the boatmen of Canada could reach Lake Traverse. 
Fifth, there was the great water passage of the present 
northern boundary of the state, leading by Grand Portage, 
nine miles long, to Lake Superior. By means of these 
routes, even though with extreme hardship, nearly every 
part of the state could be covered. For two centuries 
the wilderness sent its wealth to its masters, over these 
well-established highways. 

Hardships of the fur hunters. — What those hardships 
were it is impossible to picture in words. The hardy 
voyageurs, sons of Indian women and French traders, en- 
dured suffering with the stoicism of the woods and the 
persistence of the city. They paddled along with noise- 
less movements, when the stream ran deep and smooth. 
They shot swiftly over rapids, where the rocks lay hidden 
to destroy their canoes and sink their precious pelts, on a 
single false stroke, in the rushing water. They carried 



38 



MINNESOTA UNDER ENGLISH RULE 



their loads of provisions and furs around too dangerous 
rapids or falls, or they fought their way through bramble 
and swamp from the headwater of one river to the trickling 
creek that marked the beginning of another. Sometimes 
they had to close a beaver dam and wait until the water 
deepened above it sufficiently to float their canoes and their 
loads. Often a single canoe was manned by six boatmen, 
transporting more than six tons of furs. Sometimes, expert 



■4 .-' i^ -••■ ■■■^. 



(•1,7. . ^- « .,.,'-' nS 




Pe:rre.\\. 



Canoe load of furs. 



as they were in woodcraft, they lost their way among the 
trees and wandered for days, the prey of mosquitoes 
by day and by night. If their provisions failed and the 
hunting proved unsuccessful, they were gnawed by terrible 
hunger pains. 

A portage. — ■ The toils of the portage are little appre- 
ciated even by modern campers who have sought to return 
to nature, and for their amusement have galled themselves 
with pack straps. These can at least guess what it meant 
to carry a man's load of two hundred and fifty pounds for 



MINNESOTA UNDER ENGLISH RULE 



39 



a half mile or more at a stretch. Often the path led through 
a close matting of brush, either over a rocky hillside where 
the slate tore their moccasins 
from their feet, or through :. Uj\^W^^ 
a morass half-leg deep - ' ^ 
in mud and water. 
Such a stretch was 
called a ''pause 
Sometimes a por- 
tage would be only 
one pause long, ^ :^f^v\l 



though generally 

from two to five ''^^^^:^^ 

pauses, and often fC?^\^ 




seventeen. Thus in - U,; 
carrying a good canoe 
load of furs and provi- 
sions from river to river, 
two or three days might 
be consumed. When we realize 
that after the English had gained 
control of the posts, these men made 
annual trips to the Pacific coast, pulling 
their canoes over the mountain passes, as 
portages, we stand abashed at the struggles 
that opened Minnesota to the world. 



SUMMARY 

Minnesota waterways became still better known. 

The fur trade reached its climax. 

Jonathan Carver explored the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers in 1766. 



40 MINNESOTA UNDER ENGLISH RULE 

QUESTIONS 

1. Describe Carver's journeys. 

2. What is meant by the Carver grant? 

3. Define: beaver dam; portage; carry; pause; voyageur. 

REFERENCES 

Travels Through the Interior Parts of North America in the Years iy66 

and 1768. — Jonathan Carver. 
The Conquest of the Great Northwest. — Agnes Laut. 
Narrative of an Expedition Through the Upper Mississippi to Lake 

Itasca in 18 j2. — Henry R. Schoolcraft. 



CHAPTER IV 

FROM SAVAGERY TO CIVILIZATION 

An American Minnesota. — Frenchmen had come and 
gone. Englishmen had come and gone. At least the 
English and the French governments had in turn ceased 
to control the great Northwest. To be sure the French 
voyageurs and traders, employed first by English and 
then by American companies, continued to take their 
canoe loads of furs from the Minnesota forests, as long as 
the fur trade lasted. The English captains continued to 
manage these men in the interests of the great Hudson's 
Bay and Northwestern companies. But with the treaty of 
Paris in 1783, the American government came into posses- 
sion of all the territory of the Northwest, as far as the Mis- 
sissippi River. Beyond was Louisiana, stretching from 
the Rainy River to the Gulf of Mexico, fronted by such 
pioneer settlements as Prairie du Chien, but really known 
only to the voyageurs. 

Ownership of this vast stretch of land and water could 
not be fully appreciated by people who lived in peace and 
comfort east of the Alleghenies. Even to-day the forest 
land of Minnesota and other states seems too savage, too 
stubborn to be subdued for the uses of a civilized society. 
So in the days that followed the War for Independence, 
the territory between the western boundary of New York 
and Pennsylvania and the Mississippi was commonly 
thought to be fit only for the half-barbarian boatmen of 

41 



42 



FROM SAVAGERY TO CIVILIZATION 



the fur companies. The government, however, was wiser 
than the people it represented. It drew up a plan called 
the Ordinance of 1787, by which the unwieldy empire might 
be developed. 

How the Ordinance of 1787 helped. — This plan, as 
IVIcIMaster says : " Provided that until five thousand free 
white men lived in the territory, the governing body should 
be a governor and three judges ; that when there were five 
thousand free white men in the territory they might elect 




The fort at Marietta. 



a legislature and send a delegate to Congress ; that slavery 
should not be permitted in the territory, but that fugitive 
slaves should be returned ; that the territory should in time 
be cut up into not more than five nor less than three states ; 
and that when the population of each division numbered 
sixty thousand, it should be admitted into the Union on 
the same footing as the original states." 

The passing of the ordinance aroused the brave and ambi- 
tious. The first settlers came from New England, under 
the leadership of Manasseh Cutler, to settle at Marietta, 



FROM SAVAGERY TO CIVILIZATION 43 

Ohio. Then followed the inevitable conflict with the In- 
dians. This so retarded the progress of the territory that 
little growth was possible until after the beginning of 
the nineteenth century. The vast majority of the dwellers 
in New England and New York who took up land in the 
Northwest were content with an ownership in name. 

Napoleon sells Louisiana. — A pecuHar combination of 
circumstances gave Americans control of all the territory 
that we call Minnesota. Napoleon Bonaparte determined 
to sell Louisiana to the United States. Jefferson, through 
his able ministers to France, Livingston and Monroe, was 
able to obtain this great territory for fifteen million dollars. 
In 1803, after fierce opposition from the Federalists, the 
act of purchase was signed. Thus the government came 
into possession of " The Great American Desert," as the 
geographers called the Northwest. 

Those who had not yet been able to appreciate the North- 
west Territory believed it to be a country capable of sup- 
porting only Indians and wild beasts. Little did they 
dream of the vast wealth that lay hidden in the new pur- 
chase. How could they guess that when a New York farm 
within easy reach of a city could be bought for fifty dollars 
an acre, a Minnesota farm two hundred miles from the 
Twin Cities would some day sell for seventy-five dollars an 
acre? Who would have suspected that an acre of that 
farm would produce its own value in grain in one year, 
and that the total value of wheat, barley, corn, and potatoes 
raised in Minnesota in a single season would be ten times 
the price paid for the whole of Louisiana? Only men of 
extraordinary vision could even suspect such wealth. 

Pike sent to secure American rights. — British traders 
were still flying their flags over the posts at which they 



44 FROM SAVAGERY TO CIVILIZATION 

were collecting furs from the Chippewas and Sioux. They 
were operating, not only within the new purchase, but 
also in eastern Minnesota, which for twenty years had 
belonged to the United States. To render the American 
title secure, an expedition under Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike 
was sent, in 1805, up the Mississippi River. 

The journal left us by Pike should be read by all who 
would learn of the real Minnesota. In it he says that he 



',/' 










ll-nSL^ 



-^y^ y-^z^^^^ '^ ^^^ /^ ' i- ^ "*■' 




"laid out a small post" 
at Prairie du Chien or 
"Prairie of the dog." This had 
been a favorite resort of the Indians 
from time immemorial, and had been settled 
by the French in 1783. From this point, ac- 
companied by two interpreters whose names have found a 
place on the Minnesota map, Joseph Renville and Pierre 
Roseau, Pike and his company of soldiers sailed up the river. 
Pike says that the Indians came down to the river banks 
and saluted him with shot, as though to see how close they 
could get without hitting him ; and that he ordered his 
men to reply in kind. In this way he kept Chief Wabasha 
in a respectful mood, so that the chief was willing to receive 
him as a guest. Regaled on wild rye and venison, the 
expedition felt friendly to its host. Wabasha in turn was 



FROM SAVAGERY TO CIVILIZATION 



45 




Zebulon Pike on Lake Pepin. 

delighted with gifts of tobacco, four 
knives, a half pound of vermilion, 
a quart of salt, and eight gallons of rum. 

Beautiful Lake Pepin won from Pike praise equal to 
that bestowed upon it by the earlier explorers. With 
" violins and other music playing," the men sailed up this 
lake, although a storm came up that sent their boats 
*' bow under." The leader stops to relate the story of 
Winona, who refused to marry a man whom she had not 
chosen. The maiden flung herself from the top of a steep 



46 



FROM SAVAGERY TO CIVILIZATION 



bluff and perished on the rocks below, before her kindred 
could climb the hill to prevent the deed. Since then this 
high rock has been called the '' Maiden's Leap." 

Pike makes a treaty with the Indians. — Pike met and 
exchanged courtesies with Chief Red Wing. At Pig's Eye, 
below Dayton's Bluff in what is now St. Paul, he found 
an Indian encampment deserted by all but one of its men. 



.^^, 




Jean Faribault's house on the south shore of the Minnesota River. 

He observes that the women were taking advantage of the 
absence of their husbands to talk a great deal. A little 
farther on, three bears swam across the river ahead of the 
boats. At the mouth of the St. Peters (Minnesota) River, 
he found a large island, whereon Jean Faribault, a trader, 
helped him to make a treaty with Little Crow and a 
hundred and fifty braves. The island has since borne 
Pike's name. Opposite, on the south shore of the Minne- 
sota, is the stone house where Faribault afterwards lived. 



FROM SAVAGERY TO CIVILIZATION 



47 



Terms of the treaty. — Under a bower made of sails, Pike 
with his interpreters, traders, and chiefs arranged for the 
transfer of land. This included a strip of nine miles on 
each side of the Mississippi above the Minnesota, and 
a similar strip above the junction of the St. Croix and 
Mississippi rivers. He 
gave the Dakotas the 
right " to pass and 
repass " through the 
district in the natural 
course of their hunt- 
ing excursions. As he 
says, ^' 1,000,000 acres 
worth $200,000 was 
obtained for presents 
of the value of two 
hundred dollars, sixty 
gallons of rum, and a 
promise binding the 
Senate to pay two 
thousand dollars." 
Little Crow and an- 
other chief made their 
marks, in signature of 
the treaty. 

Pike at St. Anthony Falls. — On the way up to the Falls 
of St. Anthony, the party killed a deer and a raccoon. The 
falls were found to be sixteen and a half feet high, consisting 
of three terraces of rocks each a little more than five feet 
high. Pike wondered if he could cross above the falls, 
but he decided not to try. He encamped on an island, 
probably Nicollet Island. 




Chikf Little Ckovv, grandson of thk 
treaty maker. 



48 FROM savagf:ry to civilization 

Raising the American flag. — From St. Anthony the 
expedition pushed on up to the Chippewa country. On 
October 4, Pike passed Crow Wing River and observed 
the remains of several canoes destroyed by Chippewas 
in a recent battle with the Dakotas. Again Pike went 
hunting and killed a buffalo, and a buck weighing one 
hundred and thirty-seven pounds. Near Swan River he 
made a little fort as a rendezvous for several parties of his 
men, who were despatched on various errands. He himself 
hastened to see Captain Dickson, and Grant, the agent in 
charge at Sandy Lake. Of the first, Pike says, " He is a 
gentleman of general commercial knowledge, and of open, 
frank manners." 

The British ofhcials declared that they were glad the 
United States government was going to try to keep peace 
in the territory. They said that they did not fly the 
British flag with any idea of denying the authority of the 
nation Pike represented. He found it easy to pledge Hugh 
McGillis, the chief director, to lower the flag, and to refrain 
from giving medals to the Indians. He visited Leech Lake, 
which he assumed was the source of the Mississippi. He 
induced the Chippewas to agree to a peace with the Sioux. 

Pike returns. — On the way back to the Falls of St. 
Anthony, Pike relates that he suffered the loss of his tents, 
moccasins, socks, and leggings, through fire which he re- 
joiced did not get near his three kegs of powder. With 
nothing more serious than this to contend with, he and his 
company reached St. Anthony Falls on April 10, having 
performed efficiently the task for which they had been 
chosen. Contributors to the Minnesota Historical So- 
ciety papers agree that in the loss of Pike, then a captain, at 
the battle of York in 1814, the United States lost a gallant 



FROM SAVAGERY TO CIVILIZATION 



49 




Major Long at St. 
Anthony Falls. 

officer and a fine gentleman. Min- 
nesota is fortunate to be able to 
point to him as belonging to the story of her development. 

Major Long's journey. — Pike was followed in 1817, as 
far as St. Anthony Falls, by Major Stephen H. Long, who 
was sent out by the government to choose possible sites 
for posts. At Prairie du Chien, Long found sixteen dwell- 
ings. He built Fort Crawford on the Wisconsin River, 
then pushed on up the Mississippi. Near the foot of Lake 
Pepin he found a bluff well adapted for a post, and picked 
out the site for the post we now call Fort Snelling. 

Long's observations. — Long noted that the St. Croix 
River was the channel for intercourse between the British 



STORY OF MINN. 



50 FROM SAVAGERY TO CIVILIZATION 

traders of the Superior country and the Dakota Indians. 
He was interested in Carver's Cave and the Fountain Cave 
farther up the river. He examined carefully the Falls of 
St. Anthony, both as regards their beauty and their power. 
Finding Pike's measurement correct, he writes in his journal 
thus : 

^' The banks on both sides of the river are one hundred 
feet high, decorated with trees and shrubbery of various 
kinds: the post oak, hickory, walnut, basswood, sugar 
tree, white birch, and the American box, also various ever- 
greens such as the pine, cedar, and juniper. Among the 
shrubbery are the prickly ash, gooseberry, black and red 
raspberry, chokecherry, grapevine, etc. There are also 
various kinds of herbage and flowers, among which are 
the wild parsley, rue, spikenard, etc., red and white roses, 
morning-glory, and various other handsome flowers." 

The lands above the falls also he carefully examined. 

An Indian tale. — Long was interested in the Indians 
and retells their stories interestingly, — the tale of Winona, 
for one ; the narrative of his guide, " the shooter from the 
pine tree," for another. He tells also of a woman whose 
husband, misled by his friends, took a second wife, but his 
first wife could not endure a rival in her wigwam. Paint- 
ing herself and her children, she went over the falls sing- 
ing her death song, and was crushed on the rocks. 

Major Long found Wabasha to be " one of the most 
honest and honorable, — who endeavors to inculcate into 
the minds of his people the principles adopted by himself." 

Sioux in the War of 1812. — The War of 181 2, besides 
robbing us of Captain Pike, troubled our frontier. The 
English enrolled many Indians in their forces, and thus 
aroused the demon of Indian hatred for the nation that 



FROM SAVAGERY TO CIVILIZATION 



51 



was slowly pushing them back upon the great plains. 
Especially active was Captain Dickson, for he led the 
Sioux on the warpath. In the two years of fighting the 
Indians took part in several engagements against American 
posts, and possessed themselves of many American scalps. 
It was therefore to be expected that when the war closed, 
there would be a desire to confine the Minnesota Indians 
more closely within their native boundaries. 




Fort Shelling, founded in 18 19. 

Why Fort Snelling was built. — This desire was greatly 
stimulated by the Astor interests — the American Fur 
Company — which aspired to control the fur trade of the 
Northwest. To do this a guarantee was needed that the 
British companies would not continue to incite the Indians 
against it. The company also wanted to be sure that the 
Sioux and Chippewas would not waste their strength in 
warring upon each other, while they might be trapping and 
hunting for the London market. This guarantee could 



52 FROM SAVAGERY TO CIVILIZATION 

best be in the form of a strong post on the upper Mississippi, 
garrisoned by regular soldiers. Thus we come to the found- 
ing of Fort Snelling, in 1 819. It was called Fort St. An- 
thony until 1824. 

SUMMARY 

The United States, having purchased Minnesota, sent men to explore 

it. 
Zebulon M. Pike ascended the Mississippi and made treaties with 

the Indians in 1805. 
Stephen H. Long surveyed a site for a fort in 1817. 

QUESTIONS 

1. How did Minnesota come into the possession of the United 
States? 

2. Why were eastern people slow to appreciate the value of 
Minnesota ? 

3. What characteristics does Pike reveal? Long? 

REFERENCES 

History of the People of the United States. — John Bach McMaster. 

History of the Louisiana Purchase. — James Hosmer. 

Account of Expedition to Sources of the Mississippi Through the Western 
Parts of Louisiana in 1805-1807. — Zebulon Pike. 

Journal of a Voyage to the Falls of St. Anthony. — Stephen H. Long. 

Congressional Globe. 

History of Minnesota from the Earliest French Explorers to the Present 
Time, 1858. — Edward D. Neill. 

Early French Forts and Footprints of the Valley of the Upper Mis- 
sissippi: Occurrences in and about Snelling. — Edward D. Neill. 



CHAPTER V 



FORT SNELLING 

Building the fort. — It was Colonel Henry Leavenworth 
who led the troops from Prairie du Chien, or ^' the prairie," 
as it was affectionately called, in the fall of 1819. The 
men made a tem- 
porary camp on the 
Mendota side of the 
river. They suffered 
unspeakable torture 
from scurvy, caused 
by eating salt pork 
all the winter, and 
many died before 
spring. But when 
the men crossed 
the Minnesota to 
the great cliff upon 
which the fort now 
stands, and could 
raise some garden 
vegetables, they experienced great relief. This was about 
the first attempt to cultivate the forbidding plains of 
Minnesota. It was, however, so successful that Governor 
Lewis Cass, who visited the troops in the summer of 1820, 
was fed from the post garden. 

Colonel Josiah Snelling succeeded to the command that 

53 




The old stone tower at Fort Snelling. 



54 



FORT SNELLING 



same year. He pushed the building of the fortifications 
so energetically that the War Department later gave the 
post his name. The hexagonal tower and the round tower 
are still doing sentinel duty on the bluff, and the mark 
of the w^all that once connected them can still be seen. 
This wall ran along both the Minne- 
sota and Mississippi sides of the in- 
closure, and frowned upon all deeds 
inconsistent ^\^th the commander's 
idea of order and the dignity of the 



^. 




f%''^ 







^ '^Mm^4^. 



After the \: ' 




United States. 

Lumber and flour 
fort was completed a mill 
was constructed on the site of 
the present Pillsbury ,j*^|^r?[^ 
"A" mill in Miime 
apolis, then a part of 
the reservation. At 
first only lumber 
was sawed- 
there, from -^^^^, •;^ 
logs found at ^i?.l^ 
Rum River ''J^^ 
on the edo:e ^- — ^^^i 
ot the pme- ^-^- 
bearing dis- 
trict of ^Minnesota. A little later, however, flour was 
ground. It was in this mill that the children of the fort 
spent happy hours, especially after journeys to the straw- 
berry grounds about Lake Calhoun. 

Mrs. Charlotte Van Cleve records the order that was 
sent to St. Louis, the great outfitting place of the time : 



First flour mill at Minneapolis. 



FORT SNELLING 



55 



1 pair of burr millstones $250.00 

337 pounds plaster of Paris 30.22 

2 dozen sickles (for reaping wheat) .... 4.18 

$284.40 

A far reach it is from this sum to the value of the machinery 
of the smallest mill in ^linnesota to-day, and hardly pro- 
phetic of the great Flour 
City's annual product 
of 18,000,000 barrels. 
Is it not signihcant, 
however, that the twin 
industries, flour and 
lumber manu fa c t uring , 
that were to rule the 
northwest from Minne- 
apolis, were started to- 
gether in this govern- 
ment mill, in 1822 ? 

Indian warfare. — We 
have seen that the old 
fur companies had 
demanded that their 
agents exert the utmost 

effort to keep peace among the Indians. The authorities 
at Snelling, including the Indian Agent, Major Taliaferro,^ 
tried hard to prevent war between the Dakotas and Chip- 
pewas. They met with indifferent success. One day, 
shortly after solemn promises had been given on both 
sides, some Dakotas under Shakopee, or Little Six, fired 
into a lodge of Chippewas encamped under the very walls 
of the fort. Several persons were killed. In harmony 

* tol' i ver. 




Major Tauaferro. 



56 



FORT SMELLING 



with the tribal law, the agent gave the accused and self- 
confessed killers up to the Ghippewas to be punished as they 
saw fit. Mrs. Van Cleve, the daughter of an officer and the 

first white person born 
in Minnesota, has given 
us a graphic account of 
the unsuccessful attempt 
of Little Six and his 
men to escape in the 
terrible gantlet run, 
each falling a victim to 
Chippewa bullets. 

Life at Fort Snelling. 
— From Mrs. Van 
Cleve's Three Score 
Years and Ten we ob- 
tain other pictures of 
fort life more agreeable 
to civilized people. Ex- 
cursions were made over the plain for the fruit to which 
Long refers, especially the strawberries near Lake Calhoun, 
which the children ate under the protection of the miller's 
wife. The gathering for Sunday School, or for church 
when a missionary came to preach, the social affairs among 
the families of the officers, and the picturesque Indians 
coming to bring bulTalo meat for the soldiers, — all these 
varied a life that might have either been very dull or 
become very savage. 

Then, one May morning in 1823, the Indians encamped 
below the fort were alarmed, and the soldiers were cheered, 
by the arrival of the Virginian, the first steamboat to reach 
the upper Mississippi. Imagine how all ran, the Indians 




Mrs. Charlotte Van Cleve. 



FORT SNELLING 



57 



as far away as possible from the " devil canoe," the white 
men as eagerly as possible toward the landing. This was the 
signal for travel to start northward, and before the end of 
the month fifteen steamers had arrived, and nine were run- 
ning regularly. Eminent men of all 
classes, governors, senators, poets, , :: 

scientists, now began to visit this 
new summer resort and recrea- : 
tion ground. 

But although the fort was thus 
connected with the outside world 
during the summer, it was more 
widely separated from it in th( 
winter than the mere distance indi 
cates. It must be remembered also that 
in 1837 Dubuque was a village 
of three hundred people, Chicago 
but a lively town, Milwaukee an 
overgrown village, and that the 

capital of Wisconsin was Mineral Point. As there were 
no roads from Prairie du Chien, the mail at first came 
twice a year, and not oftener than twice a month until 
the forties, when the country began to be settled. It was 
brought by a carrier, usually an Indian, on a pony. Says 
Mrs. Van Cleve, " There is no record of his unfaithfulness." 
Besides the mail few things could be obtained at this little 
village. For pork, beans, candles, and other necessaries 
they had to send to St. Louis, and then wait patiently 
until the goods came by steamboat. Fortunately there 
was wood enough to keep them warm, and there was gen- 
erally game enough to eat; so there was no great suffer- 
ing to record. 




A PONY MAIL CARRIER. 



58 FORT SNELLING 

Church life. — A mission among the Chippewas had 
been started by Rev. W. T. Boutwell in 1833, but the reli- 
gious Ufe of the state really began at Fort Snelling. In 
1835 T. S. Williamson and Alexander Huggins, missionaries, 
organized a church of several officers and men. Henry H. 
Sibley joined and was made clerk. In the course of time 
this church, after meeting at the fort, at Lake Harriet, and 
even at Lake Minnetonka, became the First Presbyterian 
Church of Minneapolis. In 1839 Father Gear, of the Epis- 
copal Church, came to the fort as chaplain. Soon after- 
wards he began to hold services in St. Paul, and he had a 
Httle church erected in Mendota, the first Episcopal church 
in the state. 

Dred Scott. — While we are discussing Fort Snelling, 
it is well to be reminded that the whole nation was affected 
by an incident that occurred there. Doctor Emerson, 
the post surgeon, brought from Missouri a slave, Dred 
Scott by name, to wait upon him in his new home. In 
1838 the doctor returned to Missouri with his slave and 
soon after died. Scott sued for his freedom, declaring that 
he had been taken into the Northwest Territory, which 
under the Ordinance of 1787 was forbidden to harbor slav- 
ery. His case went to the United States Supreme Court. 
Its decision, that a slave was property and not a person, 
aroused the friends of freedom to unite against what 
they conceived to be a conspiracy on the part of the great 
money power of the South, to spread slavery over all the 
Union. 

Major Taliaferro. — Before we leave this part of our 
story we should not forget the efforts of Major Taliaferro, 
who for more than twenty years honestly and tactfully filled 
the arduous position of Indian agent. He helped the Pond 



FORT SNELLING 



59 



brothers build their cabin on the shore of Loon Lake (later 
renamed Calhoun after the statesman), and he employed 




Gideon Pond to teach 
the Indians to plow. 
On the prairie, west of 
the Pond cabin, was 
a farm established by 
order of John H. Eaton, Secretary of War, and called Eaton- 
ville. Philander Prescott, Indian trader, who, having mar- 
ried a Sioux woman, had an unusual understanding of her 
people, was put in charge. The problem of teaching In- 
dians to farm is discussed elsewhere. It is sufficient to sug- 
gest here that, like the missionary work, it had results that 
do not appear in numbers. Gideon Pond, after the Lake 
Calhoun band had withdrawn from their village to a point 
south of the Minnesota River, went with the Indians and 
continued to instruct them in the practice of agriculture. 



6o FORT SNELLING 

For his contribution to this work, and for the general effect 
of his upright character, Major Tahaferro is fondly remem- 
bered by the settlers who have referred to him. It is a 
matter of regret that he could not have lent assistance 
to the Indian service during the period that ended in 
rebellion and massacre. 

Government of Minnesota. — We must see how the 
territory so recently acquired was governed. We have 
learned that after the Revolutionary War all the district 
now divided into the states of Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, 
Michigan, and Wisconsin, including that part of Min- 
nesota east of the Mississippi, was known as the North- 
west Territory. The territory was repeatedly diminished, 
through the creation of several of the states first named. 
Michigan Territory, including all the rest of the district, 
was left, after 1834. Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota 
were known as Crawford County, the capital and out- 
fitting point of which was Prairie du Chien. In 1836 
Wisconsin Territory was organized, and included eastern 
Minnesota. Western Minnesota was then called Clayton 
County, Iowa. Henry H. Sibley was justice of the peace 
in this county, his court at Mendota being two hundred 
and fifty miles distant from the county seat. 

Thus a person who perchance had been born in western 
Minnesota in the year 1783, would have been under the 
rule of Spain, France, the United States, Louisiana, Mis- 
souri, and Iowa, before he was an old man. Had he been 
born in eastern Minnesota in 1783, he would have been 
under the rule of France, England, and the United States, 
Michigan, and Wisconsin, before his threescore years and 
ten had been completed. So swiftly did political events 
move after the two long centuries of preparation. 



FORT SNELLING 



6l 



The Pembina settlement. — During the time that the 
Mississippi country was being opened thus, what was going 
on in other parts of Minnesota? We are interested in 
the attempt of Lord Selkirk, a Scottish nobleman and 
stockholder in the great Hudson's Bay Company, to 
found a settlement in the Red River valley. He obtained 
a grant of land including the present site of Winnipeg, 
and extending as far south as the boundary line. He then 




Church and mission school at pembina. 



directed his agents to advertise the prospects of the country. 
They did so, proclaiming the climate to be mild, the herb- 
age luxuriant, and the soil fertile, producing " thirty-five 
and forty fold of corn (wheat), potatoes, vegetables, flax, 
hemp, tobacco," that " all kinds of fruit trees thrive in 
perfection," and that " European cattle, pigs, and sheep 
thrive well." Historians of the Pembina settlement have 
criticized these agents for their extravagant claims. Ex- 
cepting their statement about the possibilities of " all kinds 
of fruit," the Red River valley has much more than ful- 
filled these claims. 



62 



FORT SNELLING 



Toils of the immigrants. — The Scotch peasants had, 
however, neither the means nor the knowledge that has 
since worked the miracle of that valley. They were landed 
at York Factory on Hudson Bay in 1812. They were led 
on a terrible journey of four hundred miles by land and 
water, and immediately plunged into trouble with the North- 
western Fur Company. This concern was both jealous of 




Trappers dancing in camp. From an old picture. 



the Hudson's Bay influence and spiteful towards the de- 
velopment of the country, over which it wanted to hunt 
and trap. Its factors boldly declared that this '' country 
is not suitable for white settlement, and any attempt wdll 
be a failure, and will only result in driving away the bea- 
ver." The bois brule or '' charcoal-faced " trappers, like 
the old French voyageurs sons of Indian women and white 
fathers, were sent against the settlement, and after killing 
a governor and a score of men broke it up. Most of its 



FORT SNFLLING 63 

pioneers migrated along the Rainy River valley into eastern 
Canada. 

The Swiss. — Selkirk would not give up. He sent more 
Scotchmen, and in 182 1 he persuaded many Swiss to leave 
their rocky homes to make their fortunes in the glorious 
west. These Swiss battled against flood and cold and 
poverty for a year. Then many migrated, through hos- 
tile Indian country, to Fort Snelling. The commandant 
allowed them to occupy land on the military reservation. 
As we shall see later, they formed the nucleus of the settle- 
ment which afterwards became St. Paul. The few settlers 
who remained in the Pembina country held the land in fee, 
for the great things that have come to pass in the most 
celebrated grain district of the world. 

Testing transportation facilities. — An interesting event 
connected with the colony at Pembina and Winnipeg was 
the transportation of seed. In May, 1820, two of Selkirk's 
agents purchased at Prairie du Chien two hundred bushels 
of wheat, one hundred bushels of oats, and thirty bushels 
of peas. This seed they loaded on three Mackinaw boats, 
flat-bottomed vessels built expressly for shallow water. 
On each side of these boats was a footboard, along which 
three men stood one behind the other, while pushing 
by a long pole thrust into the river bottom. Propelled 
in this way the boats moved up the Mississippi and the 
Minnesota to Big Stone Lake. They were dragged over 
land for a mile and a half, and launched in Lake Traverse, 
the source of the Red River. Along this stream they 
floated down to the settlement. As the men plied their 
poles they sang snatches of song, after the manner of the 
half-breed voyageurs. Thus fifty years before moonlight 
excursion parties played their dance tunes, these jolly 



64 FORT SMELLING 

boatmen stirred the echoes in the big woods, where only 
the animals could hear. 

SUMMARY 

Fort Snelling, founded 1819-1820, was the center of western life as 

well as the refuge of the weak. 
It fathered the manufacture of lumber and flour. 
It attracted travelers and pleasure seekers. 
It defended the frontier against the Indians. 
It sheltered the Selkirk settlers, some of whom helped to found 

St. Paul. 

QUESTIONS 

1. What were the "twin industries" born at Snelling? 

2. What made Fort Snelling the capital of the Northwest? 

3. What made Fort Snelling known to the nation at large? 

4. Who was D red Scott ? Major TaHaferro ? Father Gear? Who 
were the Ponds? 

5. Point out the changes in the government of Minnesota during a 
single generation. 

6. In what respects was Lord Selkirk justified in settling the Red 
River country? 

REFERENCES 

History of Anoka County. — A. M. Goodrich. 

Two Volunteer Missionaries among the Dakotas. — Samuel W. Pond. 

Three Score Years and Ten. — Charlotte Ousconsin Van Cleve. 

History of the People of the United States. — John B. McMaster. 

Old Government Mills at the Falls of St. Anthony. — Edward Bromley, 

Minnesota Historical Society Papers^ Vol. 10. 
Early Days in the Red River Valley. — Mrs. Ann Adams, Minnesota* 

Historical Society Papers, Vol. j. 



CHAPTER VI 



SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION 

The Cass expedition. — The period of exploration was 
not closed with the coming of missionaries, the building of 
forts, and the erection of sawmills. Between 1820 and 

1840 some of the men 

who contributed most 
towards the task of dis- 
closing the mystery of 
Minnesota did their 
work. The Cass ex- 
pedition was organized 
in 1820, for both com- 
mercial and scientific 
purposes. With Gov- 
ernor Cass were several 
men who had the latter 
end in view, including 
Henry R. Schoolcraft. 
The expedition set out 
from Detroit and ar- 
rived six weeks later at 
the American Fur Company's post at Fond du Lac. From 
there the party journeyed to Sandy Lake, whence they 
sought the Mississippi. The Governor decided that the 
source of the Mississippi River was the lake since named 
after him. 

STORY OF MINN. — 5 65 




Henry R. Schoolcraft. 



66 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION 

Cass and the Indians. — Like Pike, Cass endeavored 
to bring about a lasting peace between the Chippewas and 
Dakotas. He invited some of the chiefs to attend a con- 
ference at Mendota. Descending the Mississippi with 
Major Taliaferro, on the first of August he met the In- 
dians of both tribes. It is said that through the efforts 
of Shakopee, who later lost his life while attempting to 
run the gantlet of Chippewa bullets, he was unable to 
fulfill his desire. From Mendota the party continued 
down the river, visiting the villages of chiefs Red Wing, 
Wabasha, and Little Crow. At Prairie du Chien they 
met Colonel Snelling, on his way to complete the fort. 
The expedition is interesting to us chiefly because it intro- 
duces us to the two men mentioned above, Governor Lewis 
Cass, who later became a notable figure in national politics 
and is referred to in Lowell's Biglow Papers, and School- 
craft, the chief authority for the legends of Longfellow's 
Hiawatha. 

Source of the Mississippi. — Early in the summer of 
1832, Henry Schoolcraft landed at Fond du Lac with a 
doctor, an interpreter, Indian guides, and a small company 
of soldiers commanded by Lieutenant Allen, thirty men 
in all. He began a canoe-and-carry journey over the well- 
known route to Sandy Lake. From there he traced the 
g4:eat river from lake to lake, and finally to the body of 
water which he named Itasca. The name was made by 
him after he had asked the Rev. W. T. Boutwell the Latin 
for ^'true" and '"head." The latter replied, ''Veritas 
caput." By striking off the first syllable of the first word 
and the last syllable of the second, there was left ''Itasca." 
Thus the river which Carver believed flowed from Red 
Lake, which Pike thought issued from Leech Lake, and 



SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION 



67 




.-"'- J^J■^^ which Cass 

^^ was certain 

rose in Cass 

Lake, was traced 

to its '^ true source,' 

which, even if the Latin 

,^ was faulty, was well 

named. The scene on the lake at this 

time was worthy of a painter's best efforts, worthy of 

Keats, who sang of 

" ' stout Cortez .... 
SOent upon a peak in Darien.' " 

For, says the diary : 

*' The novelty kept every eye on the stretch, — they 
saw the deer drinking on the margin, the wild duck flying 
up, the whole party reflected in water. . . . French and 
Indian gazed also, — it was three hundred and five years 



68 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATIOxN 

after the mouth had been discovered by Narvaez, two hun- 
dred and nineteen after De Soto." 

Schoolcraft's journey. — The diary gives us opportu- 
nity to comprehend the hardships, as well as to appreciate 
the beauties of northern Minnesota. The terrible portage 
over the rocks around the falls of the St. Louis tired even 
the Indian carriers, used to taking two " pieces," or pack- 
ages of over a hundred pounds each, upon their backs ; 
for the soldiers it was dangerous. An Indian squaw car- 
ried her two hundred pounds for a mile without stopping 
to rest, while a soldier, who had lost the one keg of pork 
he had taken, was nursing the injuries caused by its falling 
upon him. When they were over the portage and had 
reached the head of the river, there was an even worse 
struggle through " mud and water half-leg deep," the 
difficulty of travel being " much increased by fallen trees 
and brush." Thus in eleven hours they covered only 
twenty miles. 

As they approached Sandy Lake, the diary complains 
of "swamp, mud, bog, windfalls, stagnant water " ; that 
there was " no dry spot to sit on, no water to drink" ; that 
they were " at the fag end of the world," and that the 
" dampness of the ground and the torment of the mos- 
quitoes is almost intolerable." They found cranberry 
vines holding flowers and green fruit, together with last 
year's berries, and they thought the berries good. On 
July 19, the night was so cold that " water froze on the 
bottom of the canoe the thickness of a veil." 

A furrier's fort. — Schoolcraft was much interested in 
the " fort " at Sandy Lake. He describes it as " a stockade 
one hundred feet square with bastions for muskets, made 
of pine pickets thirteen feet above the ground, pinned 



SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION 



69 



together." This wall had three gates. Inside were '' a 
provision store, workshop, warehouse, rooms for clerks, 
and accommodations for the other men. Four acres of 
ground for a garden inclosed in pickets " ran alongside the 
fort. 

Chippewa signals. — Another most interesting page of 
the diary describes the plan by which the Chippewas 
signaled each other. As the expedition was pushing its 
way through the woods, one of the guides left on a stake 
a drawing of men with and without hats ; of some with 
swords, of a man with a hammer, and another with a book ; 
a figure of a prairie hen and a tortoise, three smokes, 
eight muskets, three 
hacks on the pole. The 
whole reported that four- 
teen white men and two 
Indians had encamped 
on the spot. They had 
shot a prairie chicken 
and found a tortoise, and 
they were going north. 

Morrison's claim. — 
That Schoolcraft was 
the first to find the source 
of the Mississippi, Wil- 
liam Morrison, an Indian 
trader, denies. Morri- 
son asserts, in a letter to 
his brother, that in the fall of 1802 he left Grand Portage 
and wintered at Crow Wing. Later, traveling by way of 
Red Cedar Lake, the Mississippi, and Cass Lake, he had 
arrived at Elk Lake, which Schoolcraft called Itasca. He 




William Morrison. 



70 



SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION 



says that he noticed four small streams entering the lake, 
and he declares that he was the first white man to observe 
either these springs or the shores of the lake. 

Count Beltrami. — Schoolcraft was followed by two 
men, both of whom left their names in Minnesota, Count 
Beltrami and Joseph Nicollet. Of the first it is sufficient 
to say that he was a rather erratic, though brilliant man. 
He had gone with Major Long on his Minnesota River 
expedition as far as the Red River. Then he quarreled 
with Long and set off alone to explore the wild country to 
the east. He went unguided to Red Lake, thence to a small 

lake which he called 
Lake Julia and declared 
to be the source of both 
the Red and Mississippi 
rivers. For their very 
oddities and exaggera- 
tions his statements are 
interesting, and 
historian says, 
altogether valueless 

Nicollet's labor for 
Minnesota. — Of Joseph 
Nicollet it is difficult to 
speak adequately and 
yet briefly. No man 
who has ever come into 
the state has done more 
to serve it. With most 
scholarly pains he sought to present a true account of the 
geology and resources of Minnesota. He was willing to 
sacrifice comfort and even health, to brave the perils of 




as one 
'' not 



Joseph Nicollet. 



SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION 



71 



the wilds and endure the toils of the camper in a pathless 
country. It is most significant that when, in 1842, he 
felt that he had but a few months to live, he wanted 
to leave Washington, where he had taken up his abode 
after 1836, and die within the boundaries of the territory 
he had explored. Henry Sibley wrote of him : " The 
astronomer, the geologist, and the Christian gentleman. 




The Mississippi River, three fourths of a mile from Lake Itasca. 



Joseph Nicollet will long be remembered in connection 
with the history of the Northwest." 

What did he do? On July 26, 1836, accompanied by a 
French trader, he started to explore the upper Mississippi, 
carrying with him his scientific instruments. On reach- 
ing Lake Itasca he spent several days confirming the right 
of the lake to be called the true source of the great river. 
He discovered the little streams to which Morrison referred, 
without knowing that anyone had been there before him. 
Thus he earned the little honor he claimed. The next 



72 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION 

year he was commissioned by the government to investi- 
gate the resources of the Northwest. In company with 
John C. Fremont he ascended the Missouri to Fort Pierre, 
and then traveled eastward to Minnesota. 

It was at this time that Fremont gave the name of his 
wife, Jessie Benton, to a beautiful lake lying among the 
coteaux. These hills to Nicollet seemed " to roll away like 
the billows of a great green sea, majestic and limitless." 
Passing on, Nicollet explored the country drained by the 
Blue Earth River, and upon it he dwells with fond appre- 
ciation. He makes informing comment on the famous 
Castle Rock near what is now the village of that name, and 
the Chimney Rocks of the Vermilion River. 

Major Long on the Minnesota River. — During this 
period ■ the Minnesota River attracted several explorers 
who have left observations of their travels. In 1823 
Major Long, the founder of Fort Crawford, led the first 
genuinely scientific expedition that explored the Minnesota 
River to its source. The party, guided by Joseph Renville, 
found a ready entrance into the tepees of the Dakotas and 
the log forts of the rival fur companies, the American and 
the Columbia. From Traverse des Sioux they went down 
the Red River. They spent several days in determining 
the exact boundary line between the United States and 
Canada, and then continued on to Winnipeg. Thence they 
crossed to the Lake of the Woods, and traveled by way of 
the Rainy River and Grand Portage to Fort William. 

The explorers succeeded in obtaining valuable geograph- 
ical and geological information concerning Minnesota, 
and they studied the plants and animals of the country. 
It must be remembered that the Minnesota of Long's day 
was as little known as the Antarctic Continent is to-day, 



SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION 73 

and it was thought by conservative people to be as little 
worth all the danger and struggle of such an expedition. 
Hence to persevere in opening the state to the knowledge 
of the world was a task that we may easily value too little. 

Featherstonhaugh and Catlin. — Twelve years later Long 
was followed by two travelers, G. W. Featherstonhaugh, 
an Englishman employed by the United States depart- 
ment of topographical engineers, and George Catlin, the 
artist and student of Indian manners. The first made a 
geological survey of the Minnesota Valley and tried to 
find Le Sueur's copper mine ; but he decided that the story 
was a fable. Featherstonhaugh published two accounts 
of his travels. One was geological. The other, entitled 
Canoe Voyage up the Minnesota, contains some very inter- 
esting observations concerning the scenery and life along 
that beautiful river. 

Catlin, together with an Indian guide and a friend, 
made his journey on horseback. He followed Long's route 
to Traverse des Sioux, crossed the bend to the Big Cotton- 
wood, then proceeded across the western prairies until he 
reached the coteaux. Following these hills he arrived at 
the famous pipestone quarry mentioned in Longfellow's 
Hiawatha. From this sacred quarry the Indians of vari- 
ous tribes have for ages dug soft red stone, and of it have 
made their pipes. 

SUMMARY 

Scientists, after the establishment of order, studied Minnesota to 
good purpose. 
Cass ascended the Mississippi and made a treaty with the Indians, 

1820. 
Schoolcraft discovered the source of the Mississippi in 1832. 
Nicollet made the first scientific map of Minnesota in 1836. 



74 SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION 

Long traveled up the Minnesota and along the Verandrye trail in 

1823. 
Featherstonhaugh and Catlin made observations of the Minnesota 

Valley in 1845. 

QUESTIONS 

1 . Find the reference to Governor Cass in Lowell's Biglow Papers. 

2. Show by the map that Lake Itasca is the true source of the 
Mississippi. 

3. Of what use is the work of such men as Schoolcraft, Beltrami, 
Nicollet, and Long? 

REFERENCES 

Narrative of an Expedition, etc. — Henry R. Schoolcraft. 
Letter, to His Brother. — William Morrison. 
Minnesota in Three Centuries. — Warren Upham, 



CHAPTER VII 



MISSIONARIES AND TRADERS 

Missionaries to the Indians. — Reference has been 
made to attempts to Christianize the Indians. It will be 
remembered that Samuel 
W. and Gideon H. Pond, 
two young men from 
Connecticut, were as- 
sisted by Major Talia- 
ferro to build a cabin 
on Lake Calhoun, now 
within the limits of 
Minneapolis. This was 
in 1834. There they 
labored hard to lead 
their red brothers to 
think of more important 
things than war and 
feasting. In 1837 the 
Chippewas, by a subtle 
movement, killed a 
Dakota boy within hail 
of Cloudman's village, 
between lakes Calhoun 
and Harriet. The Dakotas then made a foray into Chip- 
pewa territory. Near the site of Anoka they took ninety 

75 




Rev. Samuel W. Pond. 



76 MISSIONARIES AND TRADERS 

scalps, but afterwards were glad to put the Minnesota 
River between themselves and their foes. 

The Ponds separated later, Gideon going to Oak Grove, 
and Samuel to Shakopee. Rev. Jedediah D. Stevens con- 
ducted a school at Lake Harriet for a short time after 
this, however. At Kaposia, below St. Paul, Little Crow's 
village. Dr. Williamson labored until he joined Dr. Riggs 
at Lac qui Parle on the upper Minnesota River. Here 
both persisted in their work until the famous Dakota war 
in 1862. Among the Chippewas were W. T. Boutwell at 
Leech Lake and E. T. Ely at Sandy Lake. These were 
pioneers. Other mission stations were opened later. A 
correspondent of Henry H. Sibley, greatly interested in 
Minnesota missions, was Frederick Akers, who established 
himself at Yellow Lake in northern Wisconsin. Swiss mis- 
sionaries made a station at Red Wing's village and another 
at Wabasha's, and the Methodists built first at Kaposia 
and afterwards at Red Rock. The three last-mentioned 
stations were short lived. 

What the missionaries accomplished. — It is too much 
to say that these men, working as constantly as they did, 
could not touch the fierce Indian nature. In fact, some 
fifteen Indian churches resulted from their efforts. More- 
over, in the Indian war of 1862 the converts saved many 
whites from the resentment of their fellows. Not a few 
critics believe that if the government had treated the 
Indians differently and had given them their lands in sever- 
alty, the good work of the teachers, doctors, and ministers 
would have proved its efficiency to a still greater degree. 
It must be remembered also that the greedy trader and the 
dissolute adventurer made more havoc than a host of con- 
structive teachers could possibly have prevented. 



MISSIONARIES AND TRADERS 



77 



The great contribution of the missionaries, however, is 
the result of their observation of Indian customs and 
language. A perusal of their diaries and other writings 
puts before the reader the real Dakota or Chippewa, 
possessing, as Mr. Samuel Pond says, '^ as much human 
nature as the white man," being neither a savage nor a 




■ <^M >^rft '* 














The old mill near Shakopee, built by Samuel Pond. 



poet, but a man, loving his own and hating his enemies, 
as mankind has always done. We are especially indebted 
to the Ponds, Williamson, and Riggs, for a carefully pre- 
pared dictionary of the Dakota language. 

The fur trade. — ■ While these men were striving to 
introduce the Indians to a better way of living, trade was. 
Dr. Eastman believes, breaking down their moral character. 
There will nevertheless always be great fascination in study 



78 



MISSIONARIES AND TRADERS 



of the life and conflicts of the traders who have left their 
names scattered over the state, — Faribault, Renville, 
Aitkin, Morrison, Prescott, Brown, Rice, and Sibley. 

To give an adequate idea of the fur trade in a short 
compass is as impossible as it is to suggest its picturesque- 
ness by words. How the French voyageurs discovered 
the great fur country and how they strove to keep the In- 
dian at work collecting beaver skins has been described. 
How the English came into possession of ^^^^q.-.^^ 
the forest home of ^^ ^^^ ^^^-^^^^^^^^^ 




Fort Dearborn in 1803, a 
typical fur-trading post. 



the beaver and tried to 
hold it for their home market 
has also been mentioned. It remains to view briefly some 
of the most striking features of the organized industry. 

First, there was the organization. Before the Ameri- 
can Revolution the Hudson's Bay Company, having incor- 
porated the French companies with itself, was supreme. 
But in 1783 the Northwestern Fur Company, financed by 
Montreal merchants, began a fierce contest to wrest the 
control from this great organization. The " Nor'westers," 
with the aid of the coiireurs de hois, established themselves 
firmly in the Rainy River valley and at Fond du Lac near 
our Duluth. They built a road thirty-six miles long, 
from the source of the Pigeon River to the source of the 
Rainy, with a strong fort at each end, one in American 



MISSIONARIES AND TRADERS 79 




Fond du Lac of the early days. 

and one in Canadian territory. This road was called the 
'' Grand Portage," and the Canadian post Fort WiUiam. 
The American fort had a yard containing a hundred canoes, 
a house for officers and men, and a building for storage. 
A writer states that on a summer day he saw thirty-five 
canoes arrive at Fort WiUiam from Mackinac, each carrying 
from three to five tons of goods and each managed by eight 
voyageurs. The goods were provisions for the traders, and 
the trading stock with which to buy furs from the Indians. 
Soon after estabUshing itself, the Northwestern Company, 
as has been said, sent its voyageurs with these goods to 
the Columbia River for the coveted " packs." It is de- 
clared that the boatmen " passed with the regularity of 
steamboats," back and forth between the Columbia and 
the Fort Wilham post. The time to start came, " some 
one commenced a plaintive ditty, and the adventurers 
launched out for the western sea." At Fond du Lac, at 
the head of Lake Superior, another great post was estab- 
Hshed ; at Sandy Lake beyond the '' Grand Portage " on 
the St. Louis River, a third ; and at other portages on well- 
marked routes still other smaller " forts." 



8o MISSIONARIES AND TRADERS 

Immense profits in furs. — The profits of the business 
almost stagger the imagination. A blanket brought ten 
skins ; a gun, twenty ; a pound of shot, one skin ; a pound 
of powder, two ; and a pint of rum, all the poor Indian 
could get together. In one season twelve thousand skins 
were collected at these prices. It is said that traders went 
west with less than two thousand dollars, and returned 
later with a profit of a quarter of a million. In 1792, furs 
to the value of $300,000, or 62,000 pounds, were transported 
over the Pigeon River and St. Louis River routes. After 
that the business decKned, for in 1832 the agent at Fond 
du Lac reported only $25,000. It is no wonder that Astor 
wanted the government to shut the Northwestern Fur 
Company out of Minnesota ! 

The Asters supreme. — Of the connection of William 
Astor, son of the first John Jacob Astor, with the fur busi- 
ness much has been written. He succeeded in buying 
the Northwestern company's posts, and, under the name 
of the American Fur Company, tried to exercise full con- 
trol of the trade. He had a rival in the Columbia Fur 
Company, organized by Joseph Renville and a man named 
McKenzie. This company operated posts at Lac qui Parle, 
Lake Traverse, Traverse des Sioux (near St. Peter), Men- 
dota, St. Croix Falls, and the upper Des Moines River. 
The American posts after 1820 were at Leech Lake, Chey- 
enne River, the mouth of the Chippewa, Red Lake, Devils 
Lake (North Dakota), Sandy Lake, and Fond du Lac. 
The building used by the agent at Fond du Lac is still 
shown to visitors. Ramsey Crooks was the first general 
director of the Astor interests. 

A rival company. — After 1834 Pierre Choteau and Com- 
pany Junior, of St. Louis, was a rival of the American 



MISSIONARIES AND TRADERS 



8l 



Company and sent Henry jVI. Rice, afterwards United States 
Senator, to represent it in St. Paul. This company con- 
tinued in existence until 1859, or until, by the expiration 
of the Hudson's Bay Company's charter and the withdrawal 
of Astor, the business became scattered among individuals 
who were content with more moderate profits than had 
pleased the older organizations. 

Henry H. Sibley. — The most imposing of these barons 
of the wilderness was Henry H. Sibley. He became agent 
for the American Fur 
Company at Mendota 
in 1834, and reigned for 
a quarter of a century 
like another Warwick, 
over a kingdom a hun- 
dred miles square. He 
had a commanding per- 
sonality and a love of 
learning, qualities which 
gave him leadership over 
whites and Indians alike. 
He imported books into 
the wilderness, and sent 
them on still farther for 
the edification of his 
fellow traders. In one 
of his letters to Renville we read : " You will receive five 
volumes of the History of England, and the Biography of 
Napoleon." He observed the plants and animals of Min- 
nesota, its geological features, and its geography. Thus he 
was able to be the companion of the scholars who sought 
to give the world a comprehensive view of the newest west, 

STORY OF MINN. — 6 




Henry H. Sibley. 



82 



MISSIONARIES AND TRADERS 



Captain Marryat the novelist, Schoolcraft, Nicollet, Bel- 
trami, and others. 

At the same time, judging from the bills of goods sent to 
Sibley by his employers, who were free to advise him that 
they would take pleasure in filling any of his orders, he 
kept the state of the country gentleman. He dressed in 




'•^**ii^ ;' ^«k-i#^ 



Henry Sibley's house at Mendota. Restored by the Daughters of 

THE American Revolution. 



Marseilles and velvet vests, and fine broadcloth coats. 
He served his guests from the best plate. He stamped the 
wax on his letters with a soUd gold seal, and he treasured 
in his stables thoroughbred horses and dogs. In 1838 
David Aitkin wrote him, saying, " I should think from 
the price of fur caps you must be laying up considerable 
treasure." 

Sibley's house, which the Daughters of the American 



MISSIONARIES AND TRADERS 83 

Revolution have restored and opened to visitors, was in 
its day the mansion of the west. In it Sibley, away from 
the workaday world of greasy half-breeds and packs of 
skins, entertained his guests in the manner of the gentle- 
man born, or read the world's classics. He carried on a 
correspondence that included in its personnel high officials 
of the government, who asked his opinion on matters of 
state. Famous men who had toasted their feet at his fire 
returned grateful acknowledgment therefor ; friends and 
associates of the wilderness asked his interest for legisla- 
tion in their behalf ; and missionaries and poor travelers 
besought little favors such as sending news of the outside 
world to their lonely posts, or transporting beef or boxes of 
goods across the river. So he lived, dispensing hospitality 
and favors like one of the southern plantation owners in 
the days before the war, and accumulating the riches of 
the forest, both for his company and for himself. 

Exploiting the Indians. — To present Minnesotans the 
correspondence of Sibley, in the library of the Minnesota 
Historical Society, reveals an exploitation of the Indians 
that our present-day code of morals would never permit. 
The Indians were practically allotted among the various 
traders, and were cajoled or starved into bringing beaver, 
bear, buffalo, or muskrat skins to the trading stations. 
There their names were always entered on the debit side 
of the ledger, so that as the American Fur Company, hav- 
ing got rid of troublesome competition, became richer and 
richer, the Indians became poorer and poorer. 

The Indians were selling their lands for a pittance, and 
seeing that pittance go into the hands of the traders, for 
real or fancied debts. In 1837 the Sioux sold their terri- 
tory east of the Mississippi, and the Chippewas theirs 



84 



MISSIONARIES AND TRADERS 







"^^ 



Chippewa Indians at home. 



along the St. Croix as far north as the Crow Wing River. 
Among other adroit provisions which allowed the traders 
to appropriate the money, was one apportioning $2co,ooo 
of the $500,000 received for the Sioux lands, to half-breeds 
and traders; as Folwell says, '' in nearly equal sums." 

This treaty, if it opened the country to settlement, made 
much trouble, too. In 1830 the Mdewakanton band of 
Sioux had ceded to their half-breed relatives a strip of land 
lifteen miles wide, bordering the west bank of Lake Pepin 
for thirty-two miles. Altogether seven hundred persons 
obtained certificates from the government, after the treaty 
of 1837, confirming their ownership of this land. But the 
certificates were made transferable, and soon were being 
used for money, in all kinds of transactions. '' Half- 
breed scrip," as the paper was called, became a term of 



MISSIONARIES AND TRADERS 85 

scandal in later days, when by its use pine land was ob- 
tained, the pine cut off, and then, by the pretense of a 
mistake in location, other land obtained and the process 
repeated. Even as late as the iron ore discovery, a some- 
what similar plan was employed to obtain valuable land. 
CaUfornia land also was obtained by this " half-breed 
scrip." In fact it proved a fruitful source of crime, that 
could be covered by skillful legal manipulation. 

To make smooth the way, the eastern agents of the 
American Fur Company labored with Congress for this 
land project. Sibley gave expert advice and the prestige 
of his standing among the Indians, when called upon by his 
employers or associate traders to do so. He spent con- 
siderable time in Washington to further the project, which 
was closely connected with the conspiracy that took place 
in the fifties, a chief cause of the great Indian war of 1862. 
The sins of the fathers were visited upon the children, when 
Minnesota lost a thousand of her settlers in 1862, to the 
bullets of the Sioux. 

SUMMARY 

Missionaries and fur traders, with Sibley as their chief, made a great 
impression on Minnesota. 

Both missionaries and fur traders weakened the hold of the In- 
dians on the land. 

Missionaries prepared a band of friendly Indians who helped the 
whites in that rebellion. 

Fur traders, by their greed, fostered discontent, that broke out in 
the rebellion of 1862. 

QUESTIONS 

1 . What could the Indians have taught the whites if they had tried 
as hard as the whites tried to teach them ? 

2. Mention three hindrances to Christianizing the Indians. 



86 MISSIONARIES AND TRADERS 

3. What qualities of leadership did Henry H. Sibley possess? 

4. Could the United States have prevented the decay of Indian 
character ? How ? 

REFERENCES 

Protestant Missions. — Stephen R. Riggs, Minnesota Historical Society 
Papers, Vol. 6. 

Pathfinders of the West. — Agnes Laut. 

Henry Sibley — A Memoir. — J. Fletcher Williams, Minnesota His- 
torical Society Papers, Vol. 6. 

Letters. — Henry H. Sibley. 

Letter. — William Akers to Henry Sibley. 

Succession of Chiefs named Wabasha. — Charles Wilson, Minnesota 
Historical Society Papers, Vol. 10. 

Minnesota, the North Star State. — Wm. W. Folwell. 



CHAPTER VIII 

RIVER SETTLEMENTS AND THE TERRITORY 

The Swiss driven out. — Prior to the treaty of 1837, 
there were less than three hundred whites and men of 
mixed blood within the borders of Minnesota, including 
the Swiss who had been allowed to settle on the reserva- 
tion. Just before the treaty the Swiss were expelled by 




Winter view of St. Paul in the early days. 

the authorities at Fort Snelling. The officers asserted that 
the reservation was needed for strictly miUtary purposes, 
and that the settlers were selling liquor illegally. Ac- 
cording to statements made by others, the officers of the 

87 



88 



RIVER SETTLEMENTS AND THE TERRITORY 




RIVER SETTLEMIiNTS AND THE TERRITORY 



89 



fort coveted the land themselves, and determined to have 
no hindrance to their claim when the government should 
limit the reservation. Joseph R. Brown and Henry Sibley 
led in memorials to Congress to prevent the lands from 
being cleared of settlers. 

The Swiss help found St. Paul. — The Swiss refused to 
obey the order to move. Their cabins were broken up, 
therefore, and their goods were partly destroyed, although 



m. 







The log chapel of St. Paul, which gave the capital city its name. 

the commandant at the fort declared that he used no more 
violence than was necessary to enforce a government order. 
The settlers went down the river, some of them helping 
to found St. Paul, but the larger number continuing on 
into Indiana and Illinois. There at last, after fifteen years 
of hardship, during which they had traveled more than 
seven thousand miles, they found peace among some 
countrymen. Those who stayed in St. Paul settled near 
the cabin of Pierre Parrant, a man with a deformity on 
account of which the Indian mothers had given him the 



go 



RIVER SETTLEMENTS AND THE TERRITORY 



nickname of " Pig's Eye." Parrant's cabin was situated 
near Carver's Cave beneath the Indian Mounds. In 
1839 thirty cabins were grouped about his cabin, and for 
years the settlement that later became St. Paul was known 
as Pig's Eye. The city still retains the title as a nickname. 
The name is applied in seriousness to the marsh along the 
river below the Indian Mounds. 

In 1842 Henry Jackson, afterwards a pioneer of Man- 
kato, opened on the river front a grocery store, before 
which the steamboats stopped. This, with the completion 
of the log chapel of St. Paul by Father Lucien Galtier in 
1841, which gave the settlement its name, may be said to 
be the birth of the capital city. 




V. -^^ W3r 



What is left of the first sawmill at Marine, built in 1839. 



RIVER SETTLEMENTS AND THE TERRITORY 



91 




Franklin Steele lumber mill, built in 1848. 

Steele and Brown at St. Croix Falls. — Meanwhile the 
falls of the St. Croix, on the newly-ceded Indian land, had 
attracted Franklin Steele and " the veritable Joseph 
Brown," as Steele called him, when, expecting to be the 
pioneer, he found Brown already there trading with the 
Indians. The one was a provision dealer, the other had 
been a soldier at Fort Snelling, and later an Indian trader. 
Both began at once to cut the pine at various places about 
the falls. Others came, and the little town of Marine, 
named by them after a town in their Illinois home, was 
established in 1839 around the first sawmill. 

Dakota. — Brown's town site, Dakota, is more inter- 
esting. He chose a site opposite St. Croix Falls, and laid 
out a city which he expected would become a metropolis. 
In 1 84 1 he was elected representative to the territorial 
legislature of Wisconsin, and succeeded in having Dakota 



92 



RIVER SETTLEMENTS AND THE TERRITORY 



recognized as the seat of St. Croix County, organized from 
Crawford County. Two years later settlers from Maine 
surveyed the town of Stillwater, which afterwards included 
Brown's Dakota. 

Cutting the pine. — It was the great pine forest, be- 
lieved to be inexhaustible, that drew what a writer calls 
" the voracious Maine lumbermen " to the river valleys. 
Lumber was manufactured first on the Chippewa River, 
where a hundred thousand feet were cut in three months. 
In 1 84 1 Stillwater had twelve settlers, two years later 
twenty-five men and eight women. Its mill in 1844 cut 
the lumber that went into the St. Paul houses, and from 
it soon after was shipped the material that helped to make 
St. Anthony. Franklin Steele, after his first visit, went 
to St. Louis. There he formed a copartnership and shipped 
mill material to St. Croix Falls. He employed as mill- 
wright Calvin Tuttle, afterwards, like Steele, a pioneer of 

St. Anthony. 



Life on the St. Croix. 

— Life in the St. Croix 
Valley settlement was 
very difficult at first. 
In the year 1842 cold 
weather came early in 
the season. Conse- 
quently the provision 
steamer was delayed, 
By spring very little 




The Anson Northrup — one of the early 

BOATS. 



and starvation seemed imminent, 
food was left. With spring, however, joy came again. 
Then the boom gave way, and the logs swept down the 
river. This incident suggested the idea of rafting, which 
for half a century was a common practice on the St. Croix. 



RIVER SETTLEMENTS AND THE TERRITORY 



93 




A SOCIAL EVENING AT THE STILLWATER HOTEL, IN THE FORTIES. 

Whisky increased the dangers to which the pioneers were 
exposed. A Captain Samels compounded herbs and 
roots with whisky, and did much damage with his con- 
coction. As in most pioneer communities, shooting and 
stabbing were aU too common ; but there were pleasures, 
and there was real humor in the midst of hardship and 
sorrow. 

Anson Northrup's hotel at Stillwater was the scene of 
dancing parties attended by whole families, including the 
babies. While the babies sought sleep in some room set 
aside as a nursery, the elders danced, to music provided 
by a Frenchman who could play one tune very vigorously. 



94 



RIVER SETTLEMENTS AND THE TERRITORY 



Early in the morning the revelers picked out their respec- 
tive babies from the heap on the bed. The hotel was hos- 
pitable, for it allowed a man to sleep on the floor without 
charge, if he would keep the fire going and the dogs quiet. 
St. Anthony laid out. — Steele had built a cabin opposite 
St. Anthony Falls, but he was not allowed to occupy the 
land until 1847. Then the village of St. Anthony was born. 




First flour mill at Minneapolis. 

Like the settlers in the St. Croix Valley, the first residents 
of St. Anthony sought to enrich themselves by lumbering. 
Soon the pine woods of the Rum River resounded with a new 
music, the ring of Daniel Stanchfield's ax. Steele erected the 
first sawmill in St. Anthony. Others followed, making the 
village known as a lumber town. One of the wonders of 
the west at this time was the suspension bridge, the first 
of its kind, which Steele and his company had hung across 



RIVER SETTLEMENTS AND THE TERRITORY 



95 




The first suspension bridge at Minneapolis. 



the river. Over this bridge, on the payment of a five-cent 

toll, a traveler was permitted to cross to the great country 

stretching away to 

the west, the riches 

of which were only 

dreamed of by 

men of vision. Like 

Dakota, St. Anthony 

was merged into a 

greater unit, but it 

lived long enough to stamp its individuality upon the 

northwest. 

Other settlements. — The new country now began to 
be dotted with settlements. Mendota, by the erection of 
Father Ravoux's Roman Cathohc Church, in addition to 
the palatial home of Sibley, had attained more prominence 
than any other place in the territory we are discussing. 
It became the seat of the new Dakota County, after an 
unsuccessful attempt had been made to build a town on 
the site of the Indian village of Kaposia. Besides the 
settlements mentioned there were no others worthy to be 
dignified as towns, although there were small groups of 
people Hving near trading posts at Wabasha, at the foot of 
Lake Pepin, at Red Wing, and Kaposia. At Red Rock there 
were a few farmers. But there were thousands of people 
waiting outside the Indian country west of the Mississippi, 
as yet unceded, ready to burst into the district as soon as 
a more settled government could be established. 

Organizing the territory. — The story of the territory 
is too long to be told in full. The enabling act under which 
Wisconsin became a state defined the western boundary 
as the St. Croix River, and thus left a large section without 



96 RIVER SETTLEMENTS AND THE TERRITORY 

any government, — a section that contained most of 
Minnesota's population. A memorial signed by' Joseph R. 
Brown, A. L. Larpenteur, Henry H. Sibley, Stephen Des- 
noyer, Joseph Rondo, William Aitkin, Edward Phalen, and 
others whose names are still well known, was presented 
to Congress. It set forth that five thousand people were 
living in a district containing valuable forests, excellent 
arable land, mineral treasures almost unequaled, facilities 
for mills and manufactories, and possessing an exceedingly 
healthful climate, — - a district capable of sustaining a dense 
population. It complained that these five thousand peo- 
ple had no government, and no security for their lives or 
property but those of mutual respect and understanding. 

Congress considered in 1846 a bill proposing to organize 
Minnesota Territory, but the bill did not progress very 
rapidly, owing to the opposition of several members who 
declared that it was drawn '' to create offices," and that 
not a tenth of the people who were said to dwell within the 
proposed boundaries really lived there. Senator Buckner 
of Kentucky declared that no one wanted to admit New 
Mexico and Arizona territories, and they had a hundred 
thousand people. 

In 1849 Sibley arrived in Washington as a delegate from 
Wisconsin Territory, and then the matter was pushed 
along faster. He declared that he was able to make use 
of a peculiar circumstance to influence votes. The Senate 
was Democratic ; the House, Whig. The Whigs had passed 
a bill concerning the management of public lands which 
the Senate cared httle about. Sibley's friends in Congress, 
and he had many, advised him to tell the Whigs that they 
must vote for the Minnesota territorial bill or the Senate 
would kill their pet measure. The plan was a success. 



RIVER SETTLEMENTS AND THE TERRITORY 



97 



On March 3, 1849, the bill creating Minnesota Territory 
was finally signed by the President. 

The territory named. — In the debate on the bill, among 
many amendments proposed, some to improve the status 
of the new territory, 
more to hinder its 
progress, those relat- 
ing to its name are 
especially interest- 
ing. Some one first 
proposed " Itasca." 
Then a member sug- 
gested '^ Chippewa." 
A man from the south, who said he did not like Indian names, 
declared for his beloved Jackson, and another believed that 
Washington should be honored in the northwest. But 
happily the characteristic Indian name, meaning " smoky 
water," survived all these assaults, and Minnesota it is. 

Area of the territory. — The new territory was of im- 
mense area. It was allowed to extend as far as the Mis- 







The " Traveler's Home," on the Red River. 




A Red River valley settlement. 

souri and White Earth rivers, the latter a small stream in 
what is now northwestern North Dakota. Thus besides 



STORY OF MINN. — 7 



98 RIVER SETTLEMENTS AND THE TERRITORY 

what we call Minnesota, it contained two thirds of North 
Dakota, and more than half of South Dakota.- It is sig- 
nificant that the great plain to the west was so little known 
that the history of Minnesota is concerned with it only 
as far as the Red River valley settlement. To be near the 
waterways, where the lumber could easily be milled and 
where transportation could easily be carried on, was the 
idea that controlled the first pioneers. Besides the Selkirk 
colonists, whose bitter experiences in the Red River valley 
have been related, other settlers told terrible tales of want 
and of Indian victories. 

The first newspaper. — Nine days after the act was 
passed, a herald of future political news arrived in the 
person of James Goodhue, who with his pen and printing 
press hastened the flow of immigration into the new terri- 
tory. Goodhue started The Pioneer, a weekly paper of 
four pages, not very different from the weekly paper of 
to-day in appearance, except that the advertising columns 
were more closely set. But in the variety of the matter 
that it contained and in the tone of its discussions it was a 
superior newspaper. It printed, nearly every week, some 
poem that had been recently pubhshed in the east. For 
instance, one of the first issues contained America, the 
national anthem ; another the popular song Ben Bolt; 
and still another Bryant's poem entitled June. The paper 
published stories of considerable length, and interesting 
information of a varied character. 

When it is remembered that there were then no great 
syndicates handling such matter by the wholesale, but that 
everything had to be compiled in the local office, the enter- 
prise of the editor is evident. It is even more evident in 
the striking editorial articles, chiefly poUtical, that filled 



RIVER SETTLEMENTS AND THE TERRITORY 99 

several columns, and in the careful attention paid to legis- 
lative news. In fact Goodhue apologizes in one issue for 
devoting '' so much of our space to the governor's mes- 
sage, that our usual variety of news and editorial is 
necessarily excluded." 

Booming St. Paul. — At the same time the paper was an 
enthusiastic advertiser of St. Paul. It declared : 

" In approaching St. Paul by passage up the river, after 
making a large bend around the Sioux Reservation on the 
western shore, at a distance of half a mile below St. Paul, 
the entire village breaks suddenly into view. ... A 
description of the village now would not answer a month 
hence, such is the rapidity of building. Piles of lumber 
and building material lie scattered everywhere in admirable 
confusion. We advise the settlers who are swarming in, 
to bring tents and bedding, as it is utterly impossible to 
hire a building in any part of the village." 

Goodhue also '' boomed " the neighboring towns, St. 
Anthony and Stillwater, advising prospective settlers of 
the immense advantages to be gained by the use of the 
water power, and by development of the resources of lum- 
ber and agriculture in the great country being opened to 
the pioneer. The jealousy that afterwards embittered 
the citizens of these towns had not at that time begun 
to show itself. 

An article as characteristic as any that could be obtained 
is the following : 

^' Within the present week the citizens of St. Paul have 
erected in the lower square (Jackson and Third streets) a 
pump. Of course nothing could be more desirable, or 
more appropriate to the city. For what's a town without 
a ' town pump ' ? How will the stranger know when he 



lOO RIVER SETTLEMENTS AND THE TERRITORY 



arrives in our steepleless city unless it has the center 
marked with a pump? It is the place for placards, refer- 




ence for details of information upon 
all doubtful questions, — as when 
we say, ' Inquire of the town 
pump.' " 
It is small wonder that some enthusiast with a greater 
sense of gratitude than of poetry expressed his appre- 
ciation of the good work of The Pioneer in the following 
lines : 

"Thou mighty mover, Earth's brightest star 
We welcome thee to this land afar. 
Thou bringest light and joy in thy train, 
And we pray thee long with us remain 
And herald forth from year to year 
The Minnesota Pioneer ^ 



RTVRR SKTTLKMRNTS AND THE TERRITORY lOI 

Other leaders arrive. — By the end of 1849 more than 
six thousand persons had located in various sections. 
Alexander Ramsey, appointed governor of the territory, 




Gov. Alexander Ramsey. 

arrived from Pennsylvania, and like all other notable visi- 
tors to Minnesota, became the guest of Sibley. He floated 
down to St. Paul in a canoe and began to issue official 
proclamations. Three judicial districts were organized, 
and Judges Meeker, Goodrich, and Cooper immediately 



102 RIVER SETTLEMENTS AND THE TERRITORY 

became busy holding court, the first-named in the old 
government mill on the reservation opposite St. Anthony. 
Seven council districts were ordered by another proclama- 
tion. An election was announced for August, to choose a 
representative to Congress, also to elect nine councilors to 
serve as an upper house, and eighteen representatives to 
serve as a lower house, in the territorial legislature. This 
legislature met in September. It divided the state into 
the following counties : Ramsey, Benton, Washington, 
Itasca, Wabasha, Wahnota, Mankato, and Pembina. 
Meanwhile Governor Ramsey had settled at St. Paul, 
which became the temporary capital of the state. 

Statistics of the territory. — The population in 1849 was 
a little short of the five thousand advertised. It was 
distributed as follows : 

St. Paul 2920 

Mendota and 

Stillwater 637 

Pembina 357 

Sauk Rapids 330 

Wabasha 30 

Total 4274 

One of the first things necessary for a government is to 
assess taxes according to the value of property. This 
simple statement by counties of the valuation of Minnesota 
property, in the year following the organization of the 
territory, is interesting : 

Ramsey (including St. Anthony) $500,000 

Washington (including Stillwater) 225,000 

Wabasha 33,ooo 

Dakota 31,000 

Wahnota (including Sauk Rapids and Pembina) 36,000 

Total $825,000 



RIVER SETTLEMENTS AND THE TERRITORY 



103 



A table equally interesting is that recording the money 
appropriated by Congress for the district, during 1848-49 : 



Public buildings 
Library . . 
Penitentiary . 
Roads ... 
Indian treaty 
Salaries, etc. . 



20,000 
5,000 
20,000 
40,000 
10,000 
61,254 



Total $156,254 

Legislature in session. — The territorial legislature met 
in November of 1849, '^^ the " Central House," a hotel 




jIJ jU 111 illLfibfflH'^^^ 

1 










The " Central House," where the territorial legislature of 1849 held 

ITS session. 

that stood on Third Street near the corner of Cedar, in St. 
Paul. The assembly used the dining room ; the council, 
under the presidency of David Olmstead, an upper room. 
Thus what the place lacked in dignity was partly made 
up in convenience for the legislature. This legislature 



I04 RIVER SETTLEMFNTS AND THE TERRITORY 




St. Paul in the fifties. 



adopted the seal of the state, essentially as it is to-day, 
except for the motto, which was a Latin rendering of 
'' I wish to see what is beyond." It passed several bills, 
including one dividing the territory into three judicial 
districts and into the several counties named above. A 
bill provided for incorporating the Minnesota Histori- 
cal Society, and another, most important of all, intro- 
duced by Martin McLeod, established a system of free 
schools. 

Succeeding legislatures continued to guide the territory 
in the way of wisdom. The State University was organ- 
ized, and a two-story building was erected on the block of 
land now called Chute Square in Minneapolis. In 1854 the 
present campus was purchased. A state library was estab- 
lished. To distribute favors as equally as possible, the 
famous agreement between St. Paul, St. Anthony, and 
Stillwater, after a very natural struggle on the part of each 
of these towns to obtain the greatest center of interest as 
an aid to its growth, was ratified ; and so the university 
was given to St. Anthony, the capitol to St. Paul, and the 



RIVER SETTLEMENTS AND THE TERRITORY 



105 



penitentiary to Stillwater. By 1855 each of the rivals 
could indulge just pride in possessing an institution, for 
the " Central House " was deserted for a new forty- 
thousand dollar capitol, located on the site of the present 
" old capitol," and the prison began to loom into view. 

Prohibiting the liquor traffic. — One of the most inter- 
esting acts of these years was the prohibition bill, passed 
in 1852. It was acclaimed through the territory by the 






f 



,;#^mii'P. II mm 







1 ''Ik, "'^l- 

! Hiif ■ iff, 



o~'i*r'" ^^wiiitii^)iiiiiiiiiiiiiii 

m ' 



m((ii 







■-,; _n <;. II ■ f-T ''•■" ^>a - -1'^ 







The first state capitol of Minnesota. 



friends of temperance, who by a considerable majority 
ratified the action of the legislature. It was at this time 
that the great temperance reform wave was sweeping over 
the country. The settlers from Maine and others were 
anxious to stop the drinking by the Indians and half- 
breeds, and to rear their own children without a knowledge 
of intoxication. But the act was annulled because the 
court declared that Congress had given the lawmaking 
power to the legislature, and that since this act had been 



Io6 RIVER SETTLEMENTS AND THE TERRITORY 

submitted to the people it was not a legislative enact- 
ment. The legislature would not pass the bill. The 
people were enraged at the decision, and in many localities 
made attacks on saloons, breaking furniture, and empty- 
ing liquor into the streets. 

SUMMARY 

With the treaty of 1837 began the era of actual settlement : 

At St. Paul by evicted Swiss squatters and others. 

At Stillwater and St. Anthony by Maine lumbermen. 

At Mendota by churchmen and traders. 

At Lake Pepin by farmers and missionaries. 
Territorial government was established in 1849. 

Sibley, as delegate, was effective in securing it. 

Territorial government brought numbers of settlers into Minne- 
sota! 

QUESTIONS 

1. Why were the various settlements made where they were? 

2. What is the advantage of organizing a district into a territory? 

3. Name some of the advantages to a village of possessing a public 
institution, — a penitentiary, a university, a capitol. 

REFERENCES 

Chapel of St. Paul. — Ambrose McNulty, Minnesota Historical 

Society Papers, Vol. 12. 
History of St. Paul. — J. Fletcher Williams. 

History of Lumbering in the St. Croix Valley. — W. H. C. Folsom. 
Fifty Years in the Northwest. — W. H. C. Folsom. 
Story of Minneapolis. — E. Dudley Parsons. 
Pioneer Sketches. — Frank G. O'Brien. 
Minnesota Journalism, i84q-i86^. — Daniel Johnston, Minnesota 

Historical Papers, Vol. 12. 
Congressional Globe. 
The Pioneer (Files). — James Goodhue. 



CHAPTER IX 
SETTLERS AND SPECULATORS 

The first boom. — The new territory went through all 
the excitement of a so-called " boom," — a word that has 
come to have rather ominous meaning in the western part 
of the United States. Great opportunities, skillful and 
often rascally promoters, boundless faith in the possibil- 
ities, and too much faith in the promoters, led to excited 
drafts on credit. More than was dreamed about Minne- 
sota has been realized ; in fact her wealth to-day makes 
the advertisements of the early promoters seem inade- 
quate. If only a few people had been wise enough to know 
that the city or town is the result and not the cause of 
rural development, the people of Minnesota would have 
been saved the pangs of 1857. 

The story makes exciting reading. Town sites were 
exploited far out into the old Indian country. A typical 
example of this zeal is the group of towns planned in 
Kandiyohi County, on lakes southeast of the present 
village of Willmar. One was old Kandiyohi. This was 
platted with fifteen streets one way and nine the other, 
covering a district capable of containing two to three 
thousand buildings, to be used by ten thousand people. 
Columbia was another of the towns. It was platted by 
surveyors sent out by Joseph Brown, who had, as we have 
seen, dreamed of a city on the St. Croix. 

Besides these two, several other town sites were sur- 

107 



lo8 SETTLERS AND SPECULATORS 

veycd in the same district. But all the territory that 
afterwards became Kandiyohi and Meeker counties, at 
this time contained only two hundred houses and about a 
thousand inhabitants. On the upper Mississippi the proud 
metropolis of Watab, just north of St. Cloud, matched in 
prospects the glory of the prairie cities. Numerous other 
settlements were confidently expected to bloom before the 
grain had begun to flower. 

A scheme on paper. —~ The history of the Western Farm 
and Village Association is worthy of special notice. This 
association was organized in Ohio, to colonize somewhere 
in Minnesota, its members knew not where. Each member 
paid an initiation fee of five dollars and weekly dues of 
twelve and a half cents, for which he was to receive all 
the benefits of the association, including a periodical. The 
Advocate, giving information as to Minnesota, its pros- 
pects, and the progress of the organization. It was the 
plan of the association to take a block of land located by 
its agent, and after guaranteeing each member a quarter 
section, form a village at the center. Each member was 
to be allowed a four-acre lot in the village. 

The settlers could enjoy the benefits of stores, post office, 
blacksmith shop, school, and church, close at hand, with- 
out being crowded ; and at the same time be able easily to 
cultivate their land just outside the village. Each mem- 
ber was to claim his own land from the government ; but 
the association agreed that the choice of locations should 
be by lot. Altogether a hundred and fifty-two would-be 
pioneers joined the movement. Prospects for a successful 
colony, said The Advocate, were excellent. 

Locating the members. — Pioneer life always calls for 
personal initiative. The plan, accordingly, did not sue- 



SETTLERS AND SPECULATORS 109 

ceed. To be sure the agent found the land, — - land now 
worth more than the most enthusiastic member dreamed 
that it would be, — near Wabasha. More than that, he 
brought his fellow farmers to Wabasha. Then the troubles 
began. Wabasha was at this time a tiny village, with 
bare accommodations for its own inhabitants. In fact, 
despite the almost boundless acreage around them, people 
were more densely clustered than they are in some New 
York tenements to-day. Imagine the confusion caused 
in Wabasha by the arrival of a hundred and fifty more 
lodgers ! The inevitable happened. The organization, with- 
out means, without the leadership that alone could have 
carried out its plans, dissolved, each man striking out for 
himself and his family. 

Some appropriated rickety Indian bark wikiups, out of 
which they made temporary cabins. As soon as a man 
provided shelter for his family he began to look for the 
best land to be obtained. When he had located his farm, 
he dug a hole about eight feet wide by twelve long, cov- 
ered it with branches, grass, and dirt, made a rude door, 
and there established his family until fortune should per- 
mit of a happier dwelling. These dugouts were for many 
years familiar sights, not only in Wabasha County, but 
over a large part of southern Minnesota. 

Prosperity in the settlements. — It must not be pre- 
sumed that Minnesota was either all air castle or all bar- 
barism during this period. The St. Croix Valley and the 
St. Paul-St. Anthony districts were prosperous settlements. 
In the former, lumbering had become a fixed industry, giv- 
ing constant employment to many men. Logs were being 
floated down to Stillwater and Marine. From the mills 
came thousands of feet of such boards as we shall never 



no 



SETTLERS AND SPECULATORS 




Log rafting. 




The first house in St. Anthony, now in Chute Park. 



SETTLERS AND SPECULATORS III 

see again. From them substantial houses and pubUc 
buildings were made. Of such boards the first house of 
St. Anthony, now in Chute Park, was constructed. 

Church organizations. — The missionaries did not work 
much among the whites at first. After the Indian treaty 
and the opening of the land to settlement, however, there 
was a call for regular pastors for the Methodist, Baptist, 
Presbyterian, and Congregational churches, as well as 
Episcopal and CathoHc fathers. The American Board of 
Commissioners for Foreign Missions had sent Williamson 
and Riggs, Boutwell and Stevens into Minnesota, and was 
acting for both the Presbyterians and Congregationalists. 
The first churches of these denominations in the various 
towns were aided by a joint home-missionary board. 
Through their aid such organizations as the First Congre- 
gational Church of Minneapohs, and the Central Presby- 
terian of St. Paul were placed upon an enduring founda- 
tion. The Methodist Church made up in enthusiasm and 
careful supervision what it lacked in funds, and the Bap- 
tists were not far behind. 

Bishop Cretin arrived in St. Paul in 185 1, to superintend 
the work of the Roman CathoHc Church, so nobly begun 
by Fathers Gal tier and Ravoux ; and in 1856 he laid the 
cornerstone of the first cathedral. Then came Father Gear, 
closely followed by the Rev. L. Breck, who built a mission 
chapel in Park Place, St. Paul, one of the first Episcopal 
churches in the state. Before the state was organized in 
1858 the church hfe of the people had become settled, and 
was represented outwardly by comfortable, if not imposing, 
buildings, in all the larger centers. 

Farming a success. — Farming, too, had proved itself. 
St. Paul enjoyed a profitable river commerce with the 



112 SETTLERS AND SPECULATORS 

towns to the southward and with Stillwater, and was the 
outfitting point for the state. Besides, as the territorial 
capital, it had considerable trade and importance. St. 
Anthony had already begun to cross the river and was 
stealing upon Minneapolis, which later swallowed it. At 
St. Anthony the mills were sawing logs floated down Rum 
River, and grist was being ground for Hennepin County 
farmers. These farmers were encouraged by Colonel 
Stevens and his associates of the Agricultural Society to 
believe that wheat could be grown profitably on Minne- 
sota soil, and that cattle could be fattened on the grasses. 
Mr. Curtis H. Petitt, a merchant, wondered how he could 
get rid of numerous barrels of salt pork left over from a 
great shipment, most of which had been sold the first year 
after his arrival in the village of Minneapolis. 

Increase of newspapers. — Goodhue died before The 
Pioneer became a daily. This was in 1854. Meanwhile 
several other papers had been started. The Chronicle, 
Minnesotian, and Register and Democrat were published 
in St. Paul ; the Express, Northwestern Democrat, and 
Minnesota Republican in St. Anthony ; and others in 
Stillwater, Winona, and towns farther away. During the 
territorial period there were, all told, seventy-six weekly 
papers in Minnesota. In 1857 there were five dailies. 
The Pioneer, Democrat, Minnesotian, Times, and Press 
had been started in the capital, although by reason of 
the union of the first two of these, only four remained. 
In St. Anthony the Falls Evening News, and in Hastings 
The Ledger were being issued every day. 

One of the humorous incidents of the time was the pub- 
lication of the Watah Reveille. As one writer says, '' The 
paper never saw Watab." It was published in the Chron- 



SETTLERS AND SPECULATORS 



113 



idc ollftce and distributed to subscribers, some of whom 
were investors in the town site of Watab and perhaps 
never saw the place. 

Speculation troublesome. — Despite the solid foundation 
upon which the industry and hopes of the three leading 
settlements depended, the excitement of speculation made 
trouble. In 1848, when the land was first opened for settle- 
ment, speculators had been frightened by bludgeons in the 




1 



The Still water-St. Paul stagecoach. 



hands of actual settlers whose lands Sibley bid in for them. 
Stillwater emerged from the gloom of hard times and pre- 
pared to become a city by legitimate means. A stage, the 
first in Minnesota, made regular trips from Stillwater to 
St. Paul. It looked as though this metropolis of the St. 
Croix would become the great city of the territory. 

St. Paul developed sanely, and the village of St. Anthony 
pressed forward to take full advantage of its water power. 



STORY or MINN. 



8 



114 SETTLERS AND SPECULATORS 

Between 1850 and 1855 the population increased more 
than tenfold ; and the number of acres under cultivation 
increased from sixteen hundred to sixteen thousand. This 
wonderful development made the soundest business men 
venture into investments that their judgment under other 
circumstances must have scorned. 

SUMMARY 

Minnesota values became greatly inflated. 

Despite much solid improvement overspeculation brought trouble. 

QUESTIONS 

1. What harm does land speculation do? 

2. Why did Minnesota prosper despite speculation? 

3. How are different forces of civilization — the press, the church, 
the school — affected by speculation ? 

REFERENCES 

History of Kandiyohi County. — Lawson and Mew, 1905. 

Personal Recollections of Minnesota. — John H. Stevens. 

Western Farm and Village Advocate. — Files in Minnesota Historical 
Society Library. 

History of Goodhue County. — Wood, Alley and Company. 

History of Lyon County. — Subscription. 

Beginnings of the Episcopal Church and Early Mission in Park Place. 
— Bishop M. N. Gilbert, in Minnesota Historical Society Papers, 
Vol. 6. 

St. Anthony Express {Files). 

Treaty of Traverse des Sioux. — Thomas Hughes, Minnesota Histori- 
cal Society Papers, Vol. 10. 

Minnesota. — Johnson's Encyclopaedia. 

Steamboating on the Minnesota River. — Thomas Hughes, Minnesota 
Historical Society Papers, Vol. 10. 



CHAPTER X 
SETTLING THE INDIAN COUNTRY 

Another Indian treaty. — Prior to 185 1 all settlement 
west of the Mississippi was in reality but squatting, on lands 
still nominally held by the various bands of Sioux Indians. 
In that year, however, definite steps to dispossess the 
natives of their hunting grounds were determined upon. 
The ruse was the same that has characterized so many of 
the dealings of our government with Indian tribes, namely 
an arrangement called a '' treaty." For the promised pay- 
ment of a sum of money and a reservation upon which 
there would be a school, the Indians were to surrender to 
the government all their rights ; and the land was to be 
opened to settlement. It has been recorded many times 
that our costly Indian wars have been due chiefly to such 
" treaties." As we shall see, Minnesota furnishes a most 
terrible example of our mistreatment of the tribes. 

Traverse des Sioux. — The United States government 
in 185 1 appointed Indian Commissioner Luke Lea, Gover- 
nor Ramsey, and others, to call a council of the Indians 
and make such a treaty as would guarantee abandonment 
by the Indians of all c'aim to Minnesota lands. The com- 
missioners, after much delay caused by the reluctance of the 
Indians to confer on what they realized could have but one 
result, finally gathered the three western bands, Sissetons, 
Wahpetons, and Yanktons, in June, at Traverse des Sioux. 

This famous ford in the Minnesota River is ten miles 

IIS 



ii6 



SETTLING THE INDIAN COUNTRY 




SETTLING THE INDIAN COUNTRY 117 

west of the present city of St. Peter. The painting in the 
State Capitol building represents fairly well the scene of 
the gathering. After days of dehberation, during which 
the Indian chiefs, notably Red Iron and Sleepy Eye, strove 
to obtain the best possible terms, the treaty was signed. 
Then at Mendota the commissioners gathered the Wah- 
pekutes and Mdewakantons, led by Wabasha, Wacouta, 
Little Crow, Shakopee, and Cloudman, who made their 
marks on the paper. Thus the white man moved his 
boundary back another two hundred and fifty miles toward 
the Rockies. 

Terms of the treaty. — By the terms of the treaty the 
Indians ceded all their lands in the state of Iowa, and 
east of a line running from the Red River through Lake 
Traverse (see map), south to the northwest corner of Iowa. 
In return for this the United States agreed to give the 
Indians a reservation extending for ten miles from each 
bank of the Minnesota, and a hundred miles along that 
stream, starting at its source. In addition, the upper 
bands were to be paid $1,665,000 and the lower bands 
$1,410,000. The cost of this territory was twelve and a 
half cents an acre. The cash payments to the upper bands 
were to be $275,000, to the lower $220,000. After neces- 
sary improvements, including the erection of agency build- 
ings, and especially schools, had been provided, there would 
be a trust fund for the former of $1,360,000, and for the 
latter $1,160,000, to be made over to the Indians in annual 
payments. 

Power of the traders. — Then came trouble. It has 
been stated that the Indian fur hunters were kept in 
practical peonage to the traders. Always at settling time 
the red man was in arrears, and thus was induced to bring 



Il8 SETTLING THE INDIAN COUNTRY 

in more furs. To be sure he was not guileless. Even if 
he had not had the constant temptation of the " fire 
water," which, as Missionary Gideon Pond says, sometimes 
kept him drunk '' for months together," and the persistent 
evil example of his white brother, he would have been more 
than human had he accepted all without resistance. The 
acts of the traders cannot be approved. They increased 
their influence over the Indians by marrying squaws, whom 
they often afterwards deserted. Thereby they pretended 
to understand Indian nature, and to represent the tribes 
in their deaHngs with the whites. The truth of the matter 
seems to be that there was money to be made out of the 
Indian, and each trader proposed to have his share of it. 
But for the time being they banded together, and ap- 
pointed one Hugh Tyler to present their claims. 

Ramsey pays the traders. — Governor Ramsey, acting 
commissioner, paid the cash which should have gone 
directly to the Indians, to Tyler, who made what was 
generally considered a fair division of the booty. Two 
men, however, rebelled and started an investigation. 
This finally resulted in Ramsey's vindication, by a special 
committee, of the charge of having a personal interest in 
the division. It must be acknowledged that Ramsey and 
Sibley, to whom Minnesota owes so much, were not free 
from blame in this improper division of Indian funds, if 
the testimony be fairly read. It is certainly well for their 
fame that they are not to be judged altogether by the 
sterner conscience regarding such matters, which governs 
society to-day. 

Entering the promised land. — For the time being, how- 
ever, there was only intermittent grumbhng on the part 
of the Indians, — grumbling which was lost in the wild 



SETTLING THE INDIAN COUNTRY 



119 



enthusiasm of the citizens over the new opportunities 
opened up by the treaty. Editor Goodhue, in The Pioneer, 
expressed the sentiment when he declared that the treaty 
was " a pillar of fire lighting us into the promised land." 
The figure was apt, for the Mississippi River had been a 
very Jordan, holding back the invaders. To be sure the 
case of Canaan was reversed, in that civilization was sup- 
planting barbarism. But the land which had been coveted 
for two generations was stormed, its wilderness, stubborn 
sod, and inclement weather were overcome, and it was 
made to yield its fruit to men of all classes. 

Said the St. Anthony Express, in extending the hand 
of fellowship to the immigrants : " We have doctors, me- 
chanics, sawmills, and public houses. Are you a farmer? 
We have room for more. Are you a clergyman? Settle 
down. Are you a merchant ? Room for more. Or a 
physician? You are wanted. Or an attorney? Wait 




A FARM IN THE TIMBER COUNTRY. 



awhile. There will soon be room for more. The country 
is young and therefore energetic. It is moving on like 



I20 SETTLING THE INDIAN COUNTRY 

a giant, fearlessly, bravely, bearing all with it, if not to 
wealth, certainly not to starvation." 

Settling the Minnesota Valley. — Naturally the Minne- 
sota Valley attracted most settlers. The broad river, 
lying, rather than flowing, between its steep cHffs, was a 
ready means of transportation, as well as a type of the 
placid country on both sides, a country that lost its woods 
or prairie flowers without rebellion. It needed only the 
faith and care of the pioneer to prove its ability to care 
for the white as it had never cared for the Indian. It 
needed only to be understood, to become one of the pro- 
viders of the world's bread and butter. 

Founding of Mankato and other towns. — The same 
Henry Jackson who had planted himself in the path of 
commerce at St. Paul was a leader in the development of 
this valley. In 1852 he moved to the great bend, near 
where Le Sueur more than a hundred and fifty years before 
had thought to mine copper. He located the village of 
Mankato, or Mahkahto as the Indians would have spelled 
it. A colony, organized in New York and numbering three 
hundred and fifty, estabHshed the town of Mapleton, some 
twelve miles farther south. A group of Welshmen occupied 
the township above the river to the westward. As a local 
historian says : " These colonists contended with wolves, 
stray Indians, mosquitoes, and wild nature herself, sorely 
tried both in the flesh and the spirit ; but held their claims 
undaunted." 

Steamboats on the Minnesota. — In 1853, according to 
a St. Paul newspaper, Mankato had twenty families, a 
hundred voters, a good hotel, and a score of other build- 
ings. In fact the valley settlements now demanded regu- 
lar steamboat service ; and their needs were met by the 



SETTLING THE INDIAN COUNTRY 



121 



forty-nine arrivals during the year. One boat even pressed 
its way as far as the mouth of the Cottonwood River. 

The arrival of one of these boats was a great event. 
It brought the necessary provisions, for want of which 
many a family suffered what we should term real priva- 
tion. It brought also the news, for which the pioneers 




The steamboat "Henrietta" on the Minnesota River. This is of a later 
period, but a steamboat on the minnesota is a curiosity still. 

were, if anything, even more eager. To push on into a 
pathless wilderness was a feat only paralleled to-day by 
the polar or African explorers. No one knew whether the 
settler would survive the ordeal or not, and the friends at 
home in far-away New England and New York were more 
anxious than he. The mail bag was eagerly seized, and its 
contents were devoured by the crowd that had rushed to 
the landing at the first faint toot of the whistle, and had 
crowded close to watch the boat as it pushed its way 
little by little upstream. 



122 SETTLING THE INDIAN COUNTRY 

The papers, although they were sometimes nearly a 
month old, brought to the pioneers fresh news from the 
great outside world. They furnished subjects for soap- 
box discussions and disputes. Their editors were forceful 
writers who, like Goodhue of The Pioneer, took a keen 
personal interest in the development of events. Thus the 
debates begun by the editors were continued by these 
farmers, and merchants, and mechanics. No wonder 
they reckoned time by the arrival of the steamboat! 

Pioneer life. — The tale of the Minnesota Valley pio- 
neers is a continuation of the hardships, already described, 
of the first settlers of the territory. They had, however, 
to face difficulties peculiar to the prairie country. One 
pioneer records that on a day when he was walking toward 
his claim he stooped down for a drink of water. When he 
arose he had lost his bearings, and he wandered around 
for hours before he found a deserted shanty which he could 
occupy during the night. When a blizzard or a fire 
swept across this unoccupied prairie, over which for a road 
a mere path or trail was the best to be expected, it took 
cruel toll in suffering and death. To dig potatoes out of 
the rough sod at the rate of ten bushels a day, of which 
one bushel was wages ; and to raise wheat, which, after all 
the toil already spent upon it, had to be hauled from fifty 
to a hundred miles to a Mississippi River warehouse and 
then brought less than fifty cents a bushel, — these were 
tasks that only bold men and women could face coura- 
geously, year after year. 

To cheer them in their labors there were no such com- 
fortable homes as those dotting the prairies of Minnesota 
to-day. Instead there were overcrowded dugouts, some- 
times no larger than the holes in which the Farm and Vil- 



SETTLING THE INDIAN COUNTRY 



123 



lage immigrants had first lodged. They were covered with 
hay, sod, dirt, or clumsy pieces of wood overlapping each 
other. The structures often admitted wind, snow, rain, 
flies, and mosquitoes. Within the woods the log cabin 
served very well, but the prairie was so attractive to the 
real farmer that he was willing to sacrifice comfort. The 
'' wood tick," on the other hand, was often content to live 
on the berries and other products of a timber country, 





A TYPICAL SOD HOUSE AND ITS INHABITANTS. 



clearing perhaps a very little of his land each year. In the 
end, the prairie man was more prosperous than the woods- 
man ; but at first the latter had the advantage. 

A great game country. — Whether on the prairie or in 
the woods, game was generally plentiful. In fact we read 
that " the air was full of meat." A pioneer who has lived 
continuously in the Lake Minnetonka district speaks with 
scorn of the accidental shooting of modern stalkers of deer ; 



124 



SETTLING rni: ixinvx country 




W ILU l.l.K. 



t\>r. says he, " Wc sat in our doorway of a morning and picked 
our o\ening meal on the hoof." Not onl}- deer, but lordly 
elk, and even butTaloes and bears were reaily at. hand to 
suppl}' the larders, and the air was thick with wild pigeons, 
ducks, and geese. A hunter of the period tells an amusing 
storv of bai^ijjinix, at one shot, fourteen 2ft?ese which his 
wife would not dress, because she believed they must have 
been sick. 

The delicious game certainly compensated greatly for 
the lack of comforts deemed indispensable in our homes ; 
although there were barren times when even the animals 
and birds seemed to have fled the land, leaving it swept by 
fire, a blackened waste, or swept by blizzard, a desert of 
dazzling white. It was at such times that the faith of the 
pioneer was most sorel\' tried. 

Increase of population. — Thus the march of the white 
man continued until the six thousand people of 1S50 had 



Sh'ITLIXC. THE IM>»IA\ COL.VJKY 



I 2 



increased U; nearly seventy Lhou.^and in 1855. Nearly 
all of the Minnes<^>ta Valley counties had l^een or^anizerl 
by that time, and the Mississij^fii Valley as far as the Crow 
Win^^ River was dotted with such settlennents as Elk River, 





^\ Anoka, and Watab. 
\ A pioneer relates that 



^ he trxjk the stage at 
St. Paul one morning 
at four o'clock, and reached Watab at about midnight 
the same day. 

Then began the immigration of the Germans and Nor- 
wegians, chiefly the former, who came nearly fifty thousand 
strong within the next few years. They scattered out 



126 SETTLING THE INDIAN COUNTRY 

over the Indian country, as far north as a line running 
straight west of MinneapoHs, and as far west a^ a Hne run- 
ning south from Willmar. Some even went north and 
some west of these Hnes. Parallel to the Farm and Vil- 
lage Association settlers were the German cooperative 
societies. The latter were more conservative in their 
plans. They made New Ulm their headquarters, and soon 
spread out over Brown and adjacent counties. Here can 
be found to-day the descendants of those stalwart men and 
women. They are reaping the reward of their parents' 
hardihood and faith, for their farms bring forth nearly 
everything that the temperate zone can produce. The 
luxuriant plum and apple trees often hide the houses ! 

Results of the boom. — The vast expansion of credit 
that the country had been enjoying for ten years could 
not continue. What that cost was is told too well in the 
reminiscences of countless pioneers, to make it necessary 
to repeat here more than a few instances. Land between 
St. Paul and St. Anthony was sold at from two hundred 
to four hundred dollars an acre ; at the latter figure it 
could be bought as late as 1880. To be sure, within a 
radius of three miles from either of these towns an acre 
could be purchased in 1857 for ten dollars, but even this 
was high when we consider that homesteads were obtain- 
able within that distance at a dollar and a quarter an acre. 

Says a writer : " Fortunes were made in months and 
weeks, and sometimes in days. People thought of nothing 
but business. It would seem that the higher things which 
had received so much attention a few years before were 
for the time neglected. Honest people forgot their repu- 
tations and entered into speculation and fraud." 

People cannot go on borrowing from one to pay another, 



SETTLING THE INDIAN COUNTRY 127 

nor can cities on paper flourish for long. When investors 
overreach, when their families overbuy, then conservative 
folk begin to draw back, bankers hesitate, and money sud- 
denly slinks into hiding places. When the investor needs 
the money he cannot find it, and he fails. 

Failure of 1857. — So it was in 1857. The great Ohio 
Life Insurance and Trust Company, a concern in whose 
business thousands of people in the United States were 
involved, suddenly suspended payment, on August 24, with 
liabilities of $70,000,000 which it could not meet. The 
blow hit hard. In October New York banks followed the 
Ohio institution, and the chief western railways — the 
Illinois Central, New York and Erie, and Michigan Cen- 
tral — were badly crippled. The only help at such a time 
would have been a currency depending upon something 
more substantial than the assets of boom banks. As it 
was, paper money was almost rejected, and gold and silver 
coins were scarce. 

The panic hit St. Paul in October, and its banks were 
forced to suspend payment. Interest rates rose from three 
per cent to five per cent a month. An interesting story is 
told of a St. Anthony man who went to a bank to borrow 
one hundred dollars for a year, but received only forty 
dollars, the interest having been subtracted in advance. 
He looked at the money for a moment, then remarked, 
" If I had borrowed two hundred dollars I would certainly 
be owing you something, wouldn't I? " 

On October 8, the St. Anthony Falls News said : " We 
judge things are more quiet, as we met a man on the street 
to-day who had half a dollar in cash, all in twenty-five cent 
pieces. We heard of another eccentric genius who paid 
his note when it became due." 



128 SETTLING THE INDIAN COUNTRY- 

Digging ginseng. — To make matters worse the crops 
failed, so that farmers were reduced to dire extremities. 
Some had to rob the cattle and horses of their feed, in order 
to keep the children alive. In Hennepin, and in other 
counties, the settlers left agriculture to dig ginseng, a root 
much in demand among the Chinese. It was not unusual 
to see men and boys, and even women and girls at work 
with spade and hoe, obtaining their livelihood much as the 
Indians had been wont to do. One old settler declares that 
"saved by ginseng" would have been a fitting sign to 
have had placed over many a farmer's door, during that 
winter of 185 7-1 858. 

Yet despite over-inflation, despite the lack of money to 
buy bread, despite the failure of crops, IMinnesota's faith 
did not falter. In the midst of the storm her people were 
calmly petitioning Congress for her admission to the Union 
as a state. 

SUMMARY 

The treaty of Traverse des Sioux made the settlement of the Min- 
nesota \^alley possible, for it opened millions of acres of rich 
land. 

The settlement was very rapid. 

The country was exploited rather than developed. 

The panic of 1857 was the natural result. 

QUESTIONS 

1 . What does Traverse des Sioux mean ? What did the treaty 
mean to Minnesota ? 

2. Why should the Minnesota Valley have attracted settlers espe- 
cially? Show the value of a river to a country, illustrating your 
points by the INIinnesota River. 

3. What is ginseng ? How do the Chinese use it ? Is there any 
ginseng in Minnesota now ? 



SETTLING THE INDIAN COUNTRY 129 

REFERENCES 

History of the Minnesota Valley. — E. D. Neill and C. E. Bryant. 

A Half Century of Minnesota. — Horace Hudson. 

Story of Minneapolis. — E. Dudley Parsons. 

Evidence in the Ramsey Investigation. — By Congressional Commission. 

St. Anthony Express {Files). 



STORY OF MINN. 



CHAPTER XI 
THE YOUNG STATE 

A progressive country. — The boom of the fifties brought 
the population of Minnesota up to a mark that put state- 
hood within easy grasp. Besides the mere fact of numbers, 
and despite the calamity of the boom and the consequent 
panic, there had been a continuous development in the 
sections of the state where this was possible. To be sure 
the great forest area was known only to the fur traders 
and the lumbermen ; but there was territory for a good- 
sized state between the Iowa line and a line running 
directly west from St. Cloud. 

This was fairly well organized, with county governments 
and bustling towns, with steamboat and stage lines con- 
necting them. A good system of education was provided 
for, and the culture of the east was already transforming 
the pioneer into the successful business man. 

Constitutional convention. — It was decided that Con- 
gress should be asked to honor Minnesota with statehood. 
An act authorizing the voters to form a constitution 
was passed by Congress on February 26, 1857, ^^^ ^ dele- 
gates' convention was held for that purpose at St. Paul on 
the first Monday in June. To control the convention, the 
Repubhcans went to the capitol on Sunday night; the 
Democrats appeared at noon on the appointed day. Two 
chairmen, one chosen by each party, attempted to call the 
convention to order. Then the Democrats left the hall, 

130 



THE YOUNG STATE 13 1 

and there were two conventions, each drafting a constitu- 
tion modeled on those of the states already formed out of 
the Northwest Territory. 

Upon the refusal of the Democratic treasurer to pay 
the RepubUcan delegates, these sought the advice of their 
Democratic friends, with the result that a conference was 
arranged. A peace between the factions was patched up, 
and the constitution was agreed to by both Democrats 
and Republicans on August 28. The voters ratified the 
action of the convention at a special election on October 13. 

Congress discusses Minnesota. — Congress did not 
accept Minnesota as a member of the family without some 
grudging. Slavery was the supreme issue. Although the free 
states of the north were glad to receive Senators and Repre- 
sentatives from Minnesota to help them fight their battle, 
their opponents south of Mason and Dixon's line were 
equally determined to prevent such representation if possible. 

The debate over the right of Minnesota to seat her 
men in the national capitol lasted from February first 
to May eleventh, 1858. The Southerners argued per- 
sistently that the "inchoate state" had, through her legis- 
lature, " passed laws for two months " before she knew 
whether she would become a state or not. She had in 
addition elected three Representatives on false census re- 
turns, without knowing whether she was entitled to any, 
and she had violated her enabhng act. Finally her repre- 
sentation was fixed at two, until the new apportionment 
should determine how many she was entitled to. The bill 
went through both houses, and on May 1 1 was signed by 
President Buchanan. The first Senators were James Shields 
and Henry M. Rice ; the Representatives, J. N. Cavanaugh 
and W. W. Phelps. Henry H. Sibley was the first governor. 



132 



THE YOUNG STATE 



Minnesota develops rapidly. — Thus Minnesota was 
received into the sisterhood of states. Despite' panic and 
the hardships that the immigrants had to endure, the new 
state moved forward in population, in productions, and in 
general improvements. The new settlers were of the best 
stock, thrifty, industrious, foresighted, anxious to win the 
immediate results necessary to provide comfort for their 
famihes, desirous to see their children have benefits which 





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A FAMILY OF THE "FIFTIES." ThE PICTURE SHOWS TYPICAL COSTUMES OF THE 

PERIOD. 

they could not enjoy. Moreover, they were of the firm 
caliber that sustains character in the midst of temptation. 
Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Germany had for gen- 
erations been preparing the stock that Minnesota needed ; 
and now they sent their best, to become the fathers and 
mothers of a new race. Maine and New York and Michi- 
gan had already contributed pioneers interested in educa- 
tion and religion, and possessing Yankee shrewdness from 



THE YOUNG STATE 133 

which the state has profited. The sturdy, conservative, 
hard-working German, the energetic, progressive Scandi- 
navian, and the alert, leading Yankee, — these working 
side by side, after 1850, laid the foundations of wealth and 
opportunity which Minnesota offers to her sons, as well as 
to the immigrant of to-day. 

State statistics. — Minnesota had been increasing in 
population and encouraging her people to develop her 
resources. The census of i860 gave her 172,023 inhabit- 
ants, and during the time that these were being counted 
25,000 more entered the state. Land to the extent of 
3,500,000 acres was being farmed, and the production 
of wheat had passed the 5,000,000 bushel mark, while of 
corn, oats, and potatoes, more than 2,000,000 of bushels 
each were being produced annually. The value of the 
surplus products in i860 was about $4,000,000, of which 
lumber amounted to somewhat more than $600,000, furs 
about $200,000, and ginseng $70,000, besides the grain 
not needed at home, in round numbers a total value of 
$3,000,000. The assessed valuation, according to the census, 
was $36,375,000 ; this in a state that comprised only about 
a ninth part of the territory purchased a half century 
before for $15,000,000, and within twenty years supposed 
to be worthless for little except furs. 

Improved transportation. — It became evident to farmer 
and merchant alike that the means of transportation must 
be improved. The voyageur was gone ; his work was 
being done by the " fire canoes " that shoved their noses 
into every navigable stream. But at best the steam- 
boats were uncertain. Not only were the channels always 
changing and the water level alternating between flood and 
shoal, but as early as October the captains were fearful 



134 



THE YOUNG STATE 



lest they be frozen in before they could unload their goods 
and hasten south. To be sure their fear was groundless, 
since the winter then, as now, seldom set in until late in 
December. But most of them were southerners who sup- 
posed that Minnesota was Arctic in climate. 

Carts and dog trains. — To be sure, other means of trans- 
port had been devised. For instance, there was the famous 
Red River cart. It was built without a piece of iron, with 
two wheels, and a box fitted to hold about seven hundred 
pounds of pemmican or furs. Between the shafts trudged 
an ox, to the accompaniment of an awful wail of agony 








Red River oxcarts. 



emitted by the ungreased wheels. These carts had first 
appeared in St. Paul in 1840, and they continued to 
camp regularly a mile east of the present Lexington Park, 
until the stages began to run. Dog trains very similar to 
those now used in the far north were also familiar in the 
capital during the first years of settlement. But neither 
dog, nor ox, nor steamer, nor all three could long satisfy 
the conditions. 

The stagecoach. — The stage system was then estab- 
lished. To those who are astonished at the extent of com- 
merce carried on by the still cruder means just discussed, 
it seems really marvelous that the stage system could have 
been developed so extensively in so short a time. Long 



THE YOUNG STATE 135 

before Minnesota had been admitted as a state, points as 
distant from St. Paul as Duluth, Pembina, and Prairie du 
Chien were being reached by stages. They are described 
by Ramsey in a message to the legislature as " comfortable 
as any in the older states," and making the journey to 
Selkirk, " which three years ago occupied a month, in ten 
days." 

The blue and the red. — A writer in the Minnesota His- 
torical Society collections says that seven hundred drivers 
and two thousand horses were employed by the largest cor- 
poration, the Minnesota Stage Company. He describes 
the picturesque manner in which, before their combina- 
tion, two rival concerns, one driving blue and one red 
stages, used to contend for the St. Paul-St. Anthony pat- 
ronage. Leaving St. Paul the road led past the Red River 
cart camping grounds on Dale Street, past what is now 
Lexington Park, and along St. Anthony Avenue or the 
Territorial Road, to the river, thence along the river to 
the present State University grounds. Here, on the site of 
the " old Main," was the Cheever Tower, a square struc- 
ture bearing the sign, '' Pay a dime and climb." The 
passengers would alight and obey the injunction, thus 
procuring a fine view of the river and the country beyond. 
Meanwhile the horses were drinking at a great trough hard 
by. When all had remounted, with a flourish, the stage, 
red or blue, continued on the last lap of its journey. 

Other routes. — Another interesting route was that to 
Superior, through the village of Wyoming. Along the 
route one can still see the old dormer-windowed houses. 
The little village of Sunrise, one of the towns platted 
with enthusiasm and for years expected by its inhabitants 
to be connected with the outer world by a railroad, is now 



136 THE YOUNG STATE 

sleeping away until its fields shall once more reclaim what 
the speculator snatched from them. 

Stages traveled down the Minnesota Valley past Man- 
kato and went westward to old Kandiyohi. They reached 
the proud town of Watab above Sauk Rapids. Reference 
has been made to a pioneer who tells of leaving St. Paul 
at four o'clock and of arriving at Watab at midnight. 
Although he says that he reached his destination tired, 
hungry, and sleepy, he doubts whether he should enjoy 
the quick three-hour journey by rail quite as much as he 
did the twenty-hour trip that revealed so much of Minne- 
sota b\' the way. 

Demand for railroads. — But there was much anxiety, 
on the part of the people of the undeveloped sections of 
Minnesota, to obtain the conveniences of the older settled 
portions of the country. By 1850 the railroad was already 
taken as a matter of course, although it was but ten years old. 
In that year the railroad reached Elgin, Illinois. Thence 
by stage the traveler in a day and a half reached Galena, 
the Chicago of the time, and four days later he arrived by 
steamer at St. Paul. Crude as was the railway equipment 
compared to that of our day, and uncertain as was its run- 
ning schedule, still it was more comfortable and more 
regular than a jerky stage pulled over terrible roads, or a 
steamboat that had to feel its way through a shifting river 
channel. Moreover, the farmers fifty miles back from 
the waterways were calling for means b\' which they could 
market their grain without being from three to five days on 
the road. 

Accordingly, between 1849 ^^^ '^^S^^ ^^^ territorial 
legislature chartered no fewer than twenty-seven railroad 
companies. Congress gave immense tracts of land to 



TiiK vouNCi statp: 137 

regularly organized companies, and the territory prepared 
to add to these tracts a large portion of the land set aside 
by Congress f(jr the benefit of the state, as soon as it should 
gain admission to the Union. But the hard times occa- 
sioned by the panic, and the delay in admission of the state, 
hindered action until 1858. 

Trouble over the grants. — The story of the grants has 
been told in pamphlet, state report, governor's message, 
and by several historians, so that only an outline is neces- 
sary here. To begin with, ten sections of land for each 
mile of railroad were allowed by Act of Congress and the 
territorial legislature, on March third and May twenty- 
second, 1857, respectively. In 1858 the state guaranteed 
to four companies not only this land, but its credit. One 
hundred thousand dollars' worth of state bonds drawing 
seven per cent interest were to be issued by each company 
as soon as it had graded ten miles of road, and another 
hundred thousand dollars' worth when it had completed 
another ten-mile strip. 

These companies were : The Minnesota and Pacific, 
to build from Stillwater to Breckenridge and from St. 
Anthony to St. Vincent ; the Transit, to run from Winona 
through St. Peter to the western boundary ; the Root 
River and Southern Minnesota, to connect La Crescent 
with Rochester, St. Paul, St. Anthony, and Mankato ; 
and the Minneapolis and Cedar Valley, to join Minneapolis 
with Mendota, Faribault, and Iowa points. Everyone 
was enthusiastic over the prospect of obtaining a fme sys- 
tem of transportation. The farmers were so eager to see the 
work started that they boarded the graders free of charge. 

The companies fail. - Then came discouragement. All 
the companies defaulted before they had laid a mile of 



138 THE YOUNG STATE 

iron. It was whispered about that the people, having 
offered their hospitahty to the financiers so freely, would 
have to pay the amounts of the bonds. The inhabitants 
declared that they would never pay. Work stopped and 
heaps of sand here and there marred the landscape, with 
never a rail to bear the trains which had been awaited so 
confidently. It seemed as if the steamboat and the stage 
must after all be the only means of transportation. 

Indignation of the people. — The railroad question for 
Minnesota now overbalanced every other problem. Indig- 
nation meetings were held, and plans were devised to guar- 
antee justice to everyone involved. It was evident, as 
Ramsey said later, that the state had made a great mistake 
in entering upon these railway enterprises. To quote his 
words, ".The conditional loan of the state credit . . . and 
the futile results of a scheme from which so much was 
promised, have satisfied the most enthusiastic, of the 
imprudence at all times of loaning state credit to private 
corporations." 

A beginning finally made. — In i860 Governor Ramsey 
declared the grants and privileges of the companies forfeited, 
and despite a court order offered them for sale. The state 
bid them in for one thousand dollars, and found itself with 
a few miles of grade and a heavy obligation of bonds. It 
offered the grants and charters to " certain persons," — 
who were really the original owners under new names. 
In 1862 the Minnesota and Pacific became the St. Paul and 
Pacific, and with the celebrated engine Wm. Crooks, that 
now stands in the Great Northern roundhouse in St. Paul, 
hauled the first train to St. Anthony, amid the shouts of 
happy people. A beginning made, further progress was 
possible. " Certain parties " became holders of the other 



THE YOUNG STATE 



139 



lines, which they had already stripped once. They were 
aided by the generous grants of the communities that were 
willing to give money to carry the roads a Uttle farther. 
So we find records of other companies that, without promis- 
ing to reach the Pacific or even to run to Canada, began 
to serve the state. 

Even during the anxieties of the Civil War, the state 




The locomotive "Wm. Crooks," now in St. Paul. 



was being covered with railroads. In 1863 the St. Paul and 
Pacific reached Elk River, the Winona and St. Peter, 
Utica. In 1864 the former road had gone thirteen miles 
farther north, and the latter twenty miles farther west. 
The Milwaukee and St. Paul, operating on a part of the 
St. Paul and Pacific grant, had built ten miles southward 
from St. Paul. Consequently, in 1865, the soldiers who had 
in 1 86 1 traveled to Fort Snelling by stage and wagon, and 
had been shipped thence down the river to Prairie du 



I40 THE YOUNG STATE 

Chien, found a train at La Crescent ready to take them 
sixteen miles westward ; at Winona, another starting for 
Rochester. From St. Paul they could reach Sauk Rapids, 
Shakopee, and Owatonna by rail. In all, two hundred 
and ten miles of road were in operation, and one hundred 
and eighty-three miles more were being graded. 

SUMMARY 

Minnesota, as a state, progressed, with enthusiasm. 
Congress passed the statehood bill in May, 1858. 
German and Scandinavian immigrants crowded into the state. 
There was demand for a better transportation system. 
The state too hastily pledged its credit for railroads and failed 

to get the roads. 
In 1862 the first railroad was opened to the public. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Name the counties of Minnesota in 1857. What was the 
capital ? How great was the population ? 

2. What is a constitutional convention? 

3. Why was there objection in Congress to receiving Minnesota 
into statehood? 

4. Why was the succession of transport as follows : dogs, carts, 
stages, before the railroad came? 

5. Explain the trouble over the introduction of railroads. 

REFERENCES 

Observations. — H. P. Hall. 

History of Minnesota. — Charles Flandreau. 

Co7igressional Globe. 

United States Census Returns. 

Transportation in Minnesota. — James Baker, Minnesota Historical 

Society Papers, Vol. q. 
Railway Legislation in Minnesota. 
Message of Governor Alexander Ramsey, i860. 



CHAPTER XII 

GENERAL DEVELOPMENT 

Further progress. — I'he progress in railroad building is 
an indication of the ambition of Minnesota. Despite the 
stress of the Civil War and the shock of an Indian uprising 
within her own borders, Minnesota increased in population 
and in i)roductions during the years i860 to 1865. The 




Read's Landing, showing raft boats. 



census of the latter year gave her 250,000 people exclusive 
of Indians, a gain of forty-five per cent over the returns 
for i860. That 10,000,000 bushels of wheat, averaging 
twenty-five bushels to the acre, could be produced in 1865, 
is proof of the faith that her people reposed in her, and 

141 



142 GENERAL DEVELOPMENT 

of the energy with which they labored. Of this amount 
7,000,000 bushels were exported, much of it being hauled 
from fifty to a hundred miles to warehouses on the Mis- 
sissippi, notably at Hastings, Red Wing, Wabasha, and 
Winona. The wheat was there dumped into flatboats 
and was floated down the river to Prairie du Chien and 
other points. 

Increase of lumbering. — During these years lumbering 
continued, although hindered by the war. Mr. Thomas 
B. Walker, of Minneapohs, gives a hint as to the sohdity 
of the state at the opening of the Civil War, in an account 
of his arrival at St. Paul in 1862 with a carload of grind- 
stones, which he readily sold. These grindstones he had 
sought to distribute in Chicago, but the war had closed 
his market. He then took them to Milwaukee, with such 
poor success that he was forced to peddle some of them from 
farmer to farmer, to earn enough for his running expenses. 
At Prairie du Chien he was again disappointed, but hearing 
there of energetic towns to the north, he loaded the cargo 
on a boat, and sold it all ! The grindstones were needed at 
the mills. The mills at the Falls of St. Anthony, on both 
sides of the river, were by this time rivaling those of the 
St. Croix Valley. Each district was cutting 100,000,000 
feet of logs a year. This, with the small amount added by 
the mills at Winona and on the upper Mississippi, made a 
total product in 1865 of 228,000,000 feet. 

Land values. — Little other manufacturing had been 
done, although St. Anthony and Minneapohs were busy 
with the development of their water power and their flour 
milling. The state geologist had explored the land to the 
north and west of Lake Superior, without suspecting the 
presence of its enormous supply of iron ore. Gold had been 



GENERAL DEVELOPMENT 



143 



discovered in that region, but Governor Marshall in his 
inaugural message wisely reminded the citizens that the 
prosperity of the state rested so manifestly on the produc- 
tion of breadstuffs and provisions, that it had been willing 
to " pass the golden crown to less-favored communities." 
He might well say this, 
since in the year pre- 
vious nearly a million 
acres of land had been 
entered by settlers. 

Education. — Educa- 
tion, however, in the 
years of the war ad- 
vanced more slowly. 
Poor schoolhouses were 
ventilated by large holes, 
due to inefhcient con- 
struction. Poor teach- 
ers, who could barely 
qualify for the most 
meager requirements, 
and poor officers, too 
ignorant of their duties and too busy at making a hving to 
carry the responsibilities which their duties laid upon them, 
hindered progress. Indeed, of 80,000 children of school 
age only a third were attending school, and these only a 
small part of the year. Teachers were receiving an average 
of sixty-two dollars a year, in some districts being paid 
as Uttle as eight dollars a month and seldom obtaining more 
than thirty dollars. 

The University, that had started with so much promise, 
was closed. The Winona Normal School had been organized, 




Governor William R. Marshall. 



144 GENERAL DEVELOPMENT 

then had died from lack of support. For the same reason 
Hamline University at Red Wing had been -forced to 
suspend. The normal school, however, was started again, 
and according to the report of 1865 was trying, with eleven 
teachers, to instruct five hundred poorly prepared candi- 
dates for positions in which to teach the rudiments. 

The scholarship of these candidates would have made 
the critics of our present school system pause, before desir- 
ing to return to the '' good old days." In answers to ex- 
amination questions they unconsciously made some very 
merry moments for the secretary of state, who served as 
superintendent of instruction. It was no wonder that the 
good secretary desired to confine himself within his own 
office, and pleaded that the legislature appoint a man 
especially to undertake the organization of the common- 
school system of the state. This plea was heard, and in the 
years following the war remarkable progress was made in 
education. 

Leading statesmen. — Before discussing the share of 
Minnesota in the Civil War, it will be well to comment 
briefly on the men who had been chiefly concerned with the 
development of the territory and state, up to the time that 
its attention was fixed upon matters outside its own borders. 
Repeated reference has been made to Henry Sibley, gentle- 
man of the wilderness, who as delegate to Congress furthered 
the organization of the territory and later was honored by 
election as first governor of the state. Joseph Brown, 
representative of eastern Minnesota in the Wisconsin legis- 
lature, as soldier, trader, lumberman, and pubhc-spirited 
citizen, had proved the value of a good man in developing a 
country. Frankhn Steele, a stern capitaUst, was pioneer in 
both the St. Croix and the Mississippi Valley, and the first 



GENERAL DEVELOPMENT 



145 



citizen of St. Anthony. Alexander Ramsey, the first ter- 
ritorial governor, has been mentioned. 

The second territorial governor, Willis A. Gorman, 
Mexican War veteran, Democratic campaigner, and after- 
wards colonel of the First Minnesota Regiment, was a 
graceful speaker, and eloquent in behalf of education and 
railroad construction. Some believe that he was tricked 
into signing a bad bill 
giving privileges to the 
Minnesota and North- 
western Railroad Com- 
pany. This was a bill, 
as one historian says, 
''whose baneful influence 
for years brooded like a 
nightmare over the seat 
of government, and on 
more than one occasion 
aroused political passion 
to an intense fever heat." 
The third territorial gov- 
ernor, Samuel Medary, 
was not a resident of 
the state long enough to exert much influence. 

Finally, there was Henry M. Rice, who came to Minne- 
sota as agent of the great St. Louis fur house of Chouteau, 
and soon stepped forward as a political leader, by becoming 
delegate to Congress in 1853. He was a man who could 
urge on Congress the opening of Indian lands, the extension 
of land surveys, and the opening of additional post offices, 
and hence became popular. In fact, it is hard to find fault 
even in our day of greater civic enlightenment, with one of 

STORY OF MINN. — lO 




Governor Willis A. Gorman. 



146 



GENERAL DEVELOPMENT 



SO much personal charm as Henry M. Rice. At the same 
time it is felt that in such transactions as the sale of Fort 
Snelling and the Indian treaties, Rice was narrowed by 
the opportunity of the moment. James Shields served as 
United States Senator with Rice for two years. He had 
been Senator from Illinois, and was afterwards Senator from 
Missouri. Sibley, Ramsey, Steele, and Rice were the "Big 
Four " who had most to do with the shaping of Minnesota 

during its early period. 
Edward Dufheld Neill 
was also one of the most 
prominent of the early 
citizens of Minnesota. 
We owe to him the 
first history of the 
state. This was based 
on scholarly reading of 
the old documents, stud- 
ied while the author was 
secretary of the Minne- 
sota Historical Society. 
Neill was made president 
of Macalester College, 
and later he became chaplain of the First Minnesota 
Regiment. He was a man of fine attainments, and broad 
influence especially in the territorial days. 

Sale of Fort Snelling. — The sale of Fort SnelHng, al- 
though the transaction occurred during the territorial 
period, was not revealed until later, and should be con- 
sidered here. Secretary of State Flood secretly disposed 
of the fort and reservation, worth $400,000, to Franklin 
Steele, in the spring of 1857, for $90,000, of which a third 




Rev. Edward D. Neill. 



GENERAL DEVELOPMENT 



147 



was paid at once. Steele proceeded to lay out the city of 
Fort Snelling, a plat of which is on file at the Minnesota 
Historical Library. Like some of the prairie town sites, 
it reveals an expansive imagination on the part of the 
promoter. It stretched northward along the Mississippi 
within sight of Minnehaha Falls, and westward for nearly a 




Minnehaha Falls, winter view. 



mile. Lots 50 by 165 feet were to be sold for one hundred 
dollars each. 

Views of public rights. — In the Congressional investi- 
gation that followed the discovery of the sale, direct ques- 
tions were asked both of Steele, and of Rice who had pro- 
cured the necessary legislation. Steele said he believed 
that the rights of the people were conserved better by such 



148 GENERAL DEVELOPMENT 

a sale than by a public auction sale, in which speculators 
would have gained a great opportunity. Rice declared 
that the buildings were old, that it was difficult to transport 
supplies up the hill, that there were no longer Indians to 
watch, and that he would rather the price had been fifty 
cents an acre than two dollars, for he believed the govern- 
ment ought to help the people and not speculators. But 
the part of benefactor to the pubhc did not please the 
majority of the committee, and they reported that they 
believed great wrong had been committed. 

Steele defaulted in his payments, and the property went 
back to the government, which was thus enabled to use the 
fort as a rendezvous for its volunteers from Minnesota 
during the Civil War. Later, however, Steele was allowed 
6394.80 acres of the reservation, just outside the present 
southern limits of Minneapolis, for his claim. 

The capital fight. — The account of the capital light is 
. an interesting story. During the last session of the ter- 
ritorial legislature, in 1857, ^ bill was introduced making 
St. Peter the capital, instead of St. Paul. The bill passed 
the house, but when called for in the council it could not 
be found. Joseph Rolette, the member from Pembina, 
was absent, and he had the bill in his custody. Despite 
the efforts of the sergeant at arms to locate him, Rolette 
succeeded in eluding pursuit. The council, after waiting 
for him from February twenty-eighth to March fifth, 
although there was a majority in favor of the change, 
was forced to adjourn without passing the bill. Rolette 
was hailed by the minority as a public benefactor, but 
by the majority he was charged with accepting bribe 
money. 

The sentiment in favor of a new capital city did not 



GENERAL DEVELOPMENT 149 

die out, however. In 1858 Governor Sibley appointed a 
commission to find a site. This commission chose Kandi- 
yohi, south of the present village of that name, where 6000 
acres of land were purchased. In 1861 a bill to locate the 
capitol on this land was lost. In 1869 another bill was 
passed, but was vetoed by Governor Marshall, because he 
beheved that the proposed site was no nearer the center 
of the state than was St. Paul, and that the financial risk 
in building in Kandiyohi was too great. There have been 
still other attempts to deprive St. Paul of her honor, but 
the defenders have strengthened their case after every 
attack. 

Bishop Whipple. — During this period the churches 
of the state partook of the general prosperity. Perhaps the 
most notable event is the beginning of Bishop Whipple's 
labors. He was sent in 1859 by the Episcopalian church 
to organize and superintend its Minnesota missions. The 
next year, with others, he organized the Bishop Seabury 
Mission at Faribault. From this developed later the 
Cathedral, the Seabury Divinity School, St. Mary's, and 
the Shattuck School. Other denominations also strength- 
ened their churches greatly. 

SUMMARY 

Minnesota made gains along many lines. 

Lumbering increased in the St. Croix and Mississippi valleys. 
Agriculture proved profitable. 

Although scholarship was poor, people were interested in education. 
Sibley, Ramsey, Steele, and Rice were active in the life of the 

state. 
The sale of Fort Snelling brought out interesting conflicts of views on 

public lands. 
The capital fight resulted favorably for St. Paul. 



150 GENERAL DEVELOPjMEXT 

QUESTIONS 

1. What does the grindstone incident show, as to progress in 
Minnesota ? 

2. Why was education backward ? 

3. Name and identify each of the "Big Four." 

REFERENCES 

United States Census Returns. 

Early Days in Minnesota. — T. B. Walker (Address). 
Inaugural Address in 1866. — Governor WiUiam Marshall. 
Report of Board of Trade of St. Anthony in i86j. 
Report. — David Blakeley, Secretary of State. 

The Various State Capitols. — Minnesota Historical Society Papers, 
Vol. 10. 



CHAPTER XIII 
CAUSES OF THE INDIAN REBELLION 

The Indians restless. — The Indians who had been re- 
moved to the Minnesota River Reservation, after the 
treaty of 185 1, had been growing more and more restive. 
The reservation was not large enough for a hunting ground, 
since it extended only ten miles from either bank of the 
river. Agricultural experiments among the Indians had 
failed to convince many of them that there was much 
promise in cultivating the soil. We are too impatient 
over the reluctance of the Sioux to become a farmer, for- 
getting that the white man refuses to leave the most noi- 
some neighborhood of the city to go ^' back to the farm." 
The brave beheld with disgust the pathetic attempts of 
the first immigrants to make a living. Poor as he himself 
was, he pitied the man who, like a gopher, had to dig a hole 
as a home for his family. At the same time he envied the 
'^ big chief " who came from the cities, and whose com- 
fortable tepees he occasionally saw. 

These feelings passed easily into hate, when it seemed clear 
that he was to be pushed out of the way. He grieved to 
see the woods that sheltered his beaver, and the prairies 
that fed his buffalo become the property of the white man. 
It made no difference that his chance visits to St. Paul, 
or to Washington itself, where the '' Great Father " sat, 
convinced him of the white man's power, or that the chiefs 
were arguing, in council or by camp fire, the uselessness of 

151 



152 CAUSES OF THE INDIAN REBELLION 

opposition. He was ruled, not by reason, but by passion. 
This passion was made up in part of sentiment, and in 
part of the increasing irritation caused by hunger and cold. 

Indians poor farmers. — Sometimes good success at- 
tended his farming. The government in 1836 had sent 
Philander Prescott to teach Cloudman how to make the 
land near Lake Calhoun yield corn and potatoes. Gideon 
Pond had led the band, after its removal to the Blooming- 
ton neighborhood, to develop the land still further. Other 
missionaries, especially Williamson and Riggs of Lac qui 
Parle, had done the same, and had been pleased to see 
their pupils take a real interest in their products. 

Here another trouble entered. The tribal life of the 
Indian had always taught him to share with his neighbor. 
He believed in private ownership as he believed in the 
purity of his home, so he was as far as possible from being 
the socialist that some have declared him to be ; and he 
was not a communist in days of prosperity. One of the 
principles of his life, however, was hospitality. This led 
him to receive into his wigwam not only those of his own 
tribe, but the stranger, whoever he might be, so long as he 
came as a friend, and to share with his visitor his last piece 
of pemmican. On the same basis he considered himself 
privileged to go into his tribesman's home to live as long 
as might be necessary. In fact, as Dr. Charles Eastman 
declares, and as the missionaries write, no Indian asked 
to be invited to another's tepee any more than he hesi- 
tated to offer the freedom of his home to anyone who 
needed it. 

It is clear that though this arrangement was satisfactory 
in a hunting community, it would not serve when the many 
poor invaded the granaries of the well-to-do and ate up 



CAUSES OF THE INDIAN REBELLION 1 53 

even their seed. Either all must be farmers or all hunters ; 
and, as has been pointed out, the great majority of the 
Sioux could not look upon agriculture as a proper pursuit 
to follow. Hence the poor farmers, excepting a few whom 
the missionaries could most easily encourage, were forced 
to return to the life of the plains. It can be understood 
that their prejudice against farming was not greater than 
that of a white man who has lost his all in some barren 
land, and has returned to live in the city, ever afterwards 
at outs with agriculture. 

Sioux in the churches. — Samuel Pond tells us that when 
he spoke of brotherhood, the Indian could not understand 
how the missionary could take offense at the loss of a piece 
of pork, gone to help a brother. That the white man's 
religion was a neighborly one the Sioux never could appre- 
ciate, since it led the more fortunate white man not only 
to keep all his own things to himself, but even to covet the 
possessions of the poor Indian. It is remarkable that 
fifteen churches, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, and Congre- 
gational, resulted from the efforts of teachers who labored 
under such a handicap. It was well for the people of 
Minnesota in the dark days of war, that these Sioux kept 
their new faith with the same persistence with which they 
had kept the trust of the tribe. 

Civilizing the Sioux. — The Christian Indians were, by 
1 86 1, exerting an influence over their tribesmen, despite 
the difficulties that have been enumerated. Traveling 
Hail, a Christian, was elected chief of the Kaposia band, 
over Little Crow, much to the disgust of the latter. The 
Hazlewood Republic, organized by Riggs under the leader- 
ship of the Indians Paul and Other Day, was teaching the 
younger braves the better ways of civilization. Moreover, 



154 



CAUSES OF THE INDIAN REBELLION 



the acquaintance of Major Joseph R. Brown with the 
Indians made him a real leader among them. 

Thus it came to pass that during 1861 and 1862 more 
than 3000 acres of land were under cultivation, and in 
1862 the crops looked better than those of the white settlers. 
In March of that year the agent shipped to the reservation 
'^4 farm wagons, 45 oxcarts, 472 plows, shovels, scythes, 
and other implements, 288 bushels of corn, 3,690 bushels 

of potatoes, 79 pairs 
of work oxen, 15 steers, 
47 cows, 8 sheep, and 
some hardware." Be- 
sides, the Indians dur- 
ing the winter of 1861- 
1862 delivered nearly 
a million feet of logs 
to be sawed up into 
boards with which 
they intended to build 
houses. In fact, many 
houses had been built 
before the outbreak, 
and arrangements had been made for eighty more to be 
constructed during the year 1862. Little Crow himself, 
before he went on the warpath, saw the foundation of 
a substantial brick structure that was to be his home. 

Besides these evidences of civilization there were to be 
seen piles of rails totahng over 30,000, to fence the Indian 
lands. Scores of the Sioux had discarded the blanket, 
cast aside the barbaric ornaments of their race, and cut 
their hair. They began to wield the hoe and ax, to cook 
on stoves, and sleep on " four-poster " beds. The friends 




Chief Other Day. 



CAUSES OF THE INDIAN REBELLION 1 55 

of the Indians had good reason to believe that the prejucUce 
against private ownership, the wiles of the medicine man, 
the craving for Chippewa scalps, and the temptation to 
carouse would be conquered ; and that the Sioux would 
soon forget their injuries at the hands of one set of white 
men, in the memory of blessings attained at the hands of 
another set. 

Nevertheless the Sioux generally doubted the reality of 
the brotherhood which the white man preached. They 
doubted still more the abihty of the government to keep 
its sworn promises. They had looked on sullenly and seen 
their money paid into the hands of the traders. They 
waited vainly for the annuities that were to supply the lack 
of game. Said one chief to Henry Sibley : " You Hve in 
comfortable tepees, we freeze ; you have abundance of 
food, we starve. The Great Father promised us boxes. 
Where are the boxes? They come a long way on the 
train. Perhaps the train goes so fast that they fall off. 
Where are the boxes? " 

Dissatisfaction. — By 1861 the situation was becoming 
serious. Grumblings were heard around many a fire, and 
threats came from many a young brave, who boasted of 
what he would do if he were given a chance. In vain the 
wiser old men, even though their hearts turned bitter within 
them at the thought of the injustice and their helplessness in 
the face of it all, argued that resistance was foolish. The 
young men were wise, too. They heard reports from the 
south, where the Great Father's troops were sometimes 
being made to run. 

Some of the Sioux had volunteered in the Minnesota 
regiments, and consequently their relatives, especially the 
younger element, were anxious to hear all the news. They 



156 CAUSES OF THE INDIAN REBELLION 

believed that they could make some white men run too, if 
they had an opportunity. Besides, were not the soldiers 
of the Great Father all down on the battlefield ? Could 
these meek-looking Germans and Norwegians, who could 
be seen plodding, plodding, every day behind plow, 
harrow, or harvester, make resistance to the sons of great 
warriors who had taken scalps from white men, as well as 
from the fierce Chippewas? So they thought, and they 
became less and less tractable. 

An Indian outcast. — Moreover, the government had 
shown great weakness in its pursuit of Inkpaduta. He was 
an outlaw from the Wahpekute band, rejected because of 
his bad character. We must not presume that because 
the Indians generally were hospitable, brave, honorable, 
and faithful, they were not sometimes cowardly and 
treacherous. Pond says that he found the Indian, even be- 
fore the white man could be accused of blame in the matter, 
possessed of the same human nature as the white man, and 
that '' some had more of it than others." The tribes were 
wont to sit in judgment on their criminals, just as we try 
our criminals. Not having the means to confine them, 
often they killed them, but more often they condemned 
the wrongdoers to wander apart from their relatives, '' a 
hissing and a byword among the nations." These outcasts 
could not claim protection against the Chippewas, nor 
could they claim the much-valued hospitaUty of their own 
tribe, in times of stress. 

Other Day's pursuit. — Of such character were Inkpaduta 
and his Httle band, numbering not more than twenty. In 
the spring of 1857 they fell ruthlessly upon the settlement 
at Spirit Lake, Iowa. They killed several settlers, then 
turned into Minnesota to attack a small community called 



CAUSES OF THE INDIAN REBELLION 



157 




Fort Redgely. 

Springfield, near the present town of Jackson. Here they 
murdered several more and took some women prisoners. 
With these they fled into Dakota, escaping from tardy 
pursuit by the government troops sent from Fort Ridgely 
on the upper Minnesota. Unable to capture Inkpaduta, 
the government commanded the tribe which had expelled 
him to do so. John Other Day and a few warriors followed 
the outlaw into Dakota, where they succeeded in breaking 
up his band, killing several of his followers, and rescuing one 
white woman, a Mrs. Hatch, who had suffered woefully at 
the hands of Inkpaduta and his son. The leader himself es- 
caped and lost himself among the wilder tribes farther west. 
But a few warriors had done what the Great Father, with 
all his soldiers, had not been able to do, and it did not 
tend to make the young men feel the superiority of the 
whites. 

Agent Brown removed. ^ The new administration, fol- 
lowing a foolish custom, now removed Agent Joseph R. 
Brown. Having an Indian wife, and having lived among 
her people as trader and associate for nearly forty years, 
he was supposed to make smooth the path of the govern- 
ment in its dealings with the Sioux. Suddenly, among this 



158 CAUSES OF THE INDIAN REBELLION 

restless people, irritated as they were and despising the 
weakness of the whites, came an agent unused' to their 
customs and unable to detect which way the wind was 
blowing. Besides, the annuities were tardy. In vain the 
new agent tried to save the situation. The cloud was 
charged with trouble and was ready to break. 

Forced collections. — ■ It had been the custom of the 
traders to sit at the pay table and collect from the govern- 
ment the money which they claimed was owed them by 
the Indians. This the Indians bitterly resented. Further- 
more, to insure order on these occasions detachments of 
troops were present at the payment. In 1861 the Indians 
organized what was known as a Soldiers' Lodge. This 
was composed of warriors who were not chiefs, but whose 
plans, formed in council, had to be carried out by the chiefs. 
The Soldiers' Lodge of 1861 determined upon an armed re- 
sistance to the presence of troops at the pay tables. The 
new agent, Thomas F. Galbraith, called for troops. These 
remained at the Lower Agency until the payment had 
been made. At the Upper Agency the signs were still more 
threatening, but troops of the First and Second regiments 
kept matters quiet. The Indians paid their " debts," al- 
though they threatened never to do so again. Irritation 
continued through 1861, so that portions of the Fourth and 
Fifth regiments were detailed to garrison Forts Ridgely, 
Ripley, and Abercrombie. 

Delayed payment. — Then in 1862 came a dangerous 
delay in the payment. Instead of sending the annuities in 
June, when the Indians had gathered to receive them, the 
government waited until August, and the money did not 
arrive until the eighteenth of that month. It was rumored 
that the Great Father needed all his money to help carry on 



CAUSES OF THE INDIAN REBELLION 



159 



the war against the south, and that his soldiers were running 
from the Confederates. Another Soldiers' Lodge was held, 
and a delegation was sent to ask Captain Marsh not to 
allow the soldiers to be present when the payment was 




Breaking into the warehouse. 

made. Captain Marsh said he could not grant this, but 
he promised not to permit the soldiers to help the traders 
collect their " debts." 

A Chippewa murder. — With these troubles there was 
another. The Sioux were indignant at not being allowed 
to fight the Chippewas, who had at various times sneaked 



l6o CAUSES OF THE INDIAN REBELLION 

down and killed several of their people. On August i6 
a man and his son were killed, and hundreds of Sioux came 
to see their bodies. Said one : '' I among the rest saw this 
man and his son dead. It made the people feel very bad, 
myself among the rest, and they had a desire to kill at least 
one of the Chippewas and have him lie as these men were 
lying, and I among the rest felt that way." 

Indians become violent. — A great party went out to find 
the Chippewas, but they had escaped. Meanwhile the 
upper Indians had begun to gather, crying for " Wo-Hay- 
Zhu-Zhu," " the payment." They were out of provisions 
and were beginning to starve. In fact, a month before the 
outbreak they had eaten their last dog. Lieutenant 
Shehan pleaded with the agent to permit the annuity goods 
to be issued, but he refused. On the fourth of August the 
hungry Indians broke open the door of the warehouse and 
stole thirty sacks of flour before the soldiers could be rallied. 
Finally the agent agreed to issue the goods, if the In- 
dians would go away and be quiet. They agreed, and the 
goods were given to them. All seemed quiet ; some of the 
troops were even sent away to Fort Ripley. 

SUMMARY 

Continued grievances made the Sioux restless. 

They were naturally jealous of the whites. 

They could not live without great hardship, since they had no 
chance to hunt, and they distrusted the civilization of the 
whites. 

They resented the presence of the traders at the pay table. 

They resented their inability to defend themselves against the 
Chippewas. 

As a result they took advantage of the Civil War and the unpro- 
tected German settlers, to make this resentment felt. 



CAUSES OF THE INDIAN REBELLION l6l 

QUESTIONS 

1. Show the difference between the occasion and the cause of an 
event. 

2. Give at least three reasons for the Indian uprising. 

3. Who was Inkpaduta ? 

4. What made the Indians dependent upon the whites for food? 

REFERENCES 

Two Volunteer Missionaries. — Samuel W. Pond. 

A Sioux Narrative of the Outbreak. — Gabriel Renville, Minnesota 

Historical Society Papers, Vol. 10. 
Inkpaduta's Massacre, in First Organized Government in Dakota, 
Governor Albright. — Minnesota Historical Society Papers, Vol. 8. 



STORY OF MINN. — II 



CHAPTER XIV 

INDIANS ON THE WARPATH 

Cause and occasion of war. — To charge the terrible 
kilUng of a thousand white people and perhaps a hundred 
Indians to the robbery of a nest of eggs, as some have done, 
is to miss the lesson that the consequences of unfaithful 
deahng ought to teach. The Confederates who fired on 
the United States flag did not cause the Civil War ; neither 
did the patriots of Lexington cause the Revolutionary War. 
They merely occasioned it. It has been shown that the 
money due to the Indians was paid to the traders, and that 
the Indians were confined to a reservation 140 miles long 
and twenty miles wide. 

This reservation was limited, after Inkpaduta's raid, to 
a strip ten miles wide, on the south bank of the Minne- 
sota. From this narrow reservation they were forced to go 
out on hunting expeditions, and naturally often came into 
colhsion with the white settlers. The settlers, on the other 
hand, were free to trespass on the reservation and resented 
being kept off. It was inevitable that some serious clash 
should occur, which, considering the state of mind that the 
Indians were in, would produce trouble. In other words, 
a trifle set in motion a very well-grounded disturbance. 

The nest of eggs. — On August 17, 1862, a hunting party 
of four Indians was passing the house of Robinson Jones, 
a white settler living near Acton. He, besides farming, 
kept a small store. He seems to have taken no pains to 

162 



INDIANS ON THE WARPATH 



163 




conceal his contempt for Indians. On this August morning 
they found a nest full of eggs in a fence corner. One 
Indian, very hungry, as the Indians nearly always were, 
wanted to eat the eggs. Another forbade it, saying that 
they belonged to the white man. Then the first dashed the 
eggs to the ground, calling the objector a coward, afraid 
to eat ^' even the eggs of the white man." The latter re- 
sented the insult, and challenged the former to go with him 
to the house and see him shoot a white man. The others, 
saying that they would be brave too, accompanied him. 

The first victims. — The four went to the Jones house 
and so frightened him by their manner that he fled to the 
home of his stepson, a man named Baker. He left his 



1 64 



INDIANS ON THE WARPATH 



foster children, a young woman and her brother, in the 
house. At about twelve o'clock the Indians followed him, 
and challenged the white men to shoot at a mark. This 
the white men did, but they neglected to reload. Then 
the Indians opened fire, and when they went away they left 
two white men and a woman dead. On their way home- 
ward they killed the young woman at the Jones house. 
They then returned to their tribe in Shakopee's village, 




Scene of the Indian massacre at Redwood Falls. 

near the mouth of the Redwood, and demanded protection. 
A council was held, and war was declared against the 
whites, half in fear, half in earnest. Little Crow, much 
against his will, was appointed their leader, — and the die 
was cast. 

Massacre begun. — Then followed a month of terror. 
The Lower Agency was attacked the next morning. Three 
of the men were shot, two of the women captured, and the 
stores plundered. Along the Minnesota bottoms hundreds 
of Indians scattered and killed unarmed and unsuspecting 



INDIANS ON THE WARPATH 165 

settlers, as men would kill sheep. Far out on the coteaux 
and along the edge of the Big Woods, wherever the settlers 
had gone, the Indians' rifles were heard. The stories of 
awful deeds, of untold sufTering from wounds and ex- 
posure in the marshes, whither many fled to hide, or from 
fearful hunger, and from the mad uncertainty as to the 
safety of dear ones, is to be read in narratives preserved 
in county histories and in the letters and diaries of settlers. 
Before the whites recovered from their surprise, more than 
a thousand — more than had fallen in any other Indian 
.war in America, and nearly twice as many as the Minne- 
sota troops lost during the Civil War — had succumbed to 
the fury of the Sioux. It was indeed proved true that the 
sins of the fathers are visited upon the children; for it 
seemed that the stored-up wrath of three centuries of 
falsehood and double-deahng was now being visited upon 
the white race. 

Indian battle. — ^ But it was not only in massacre that the 
Indians wreaked their vengeance. They had troops to 
oppose, and they did not shrink from the conflict, once the 
issue had been made. Neither did they rush heedlessly 
to battle without a plan. It has been determined from con- 
versations with the Indians themselves, that they expected 
to make Fort Ridgely the first base of operations, then 
move eastward and northward in two columns against the 
Twin Cities. Some writers have asserted that they ex- 
pected the Chippewa chief, Hole-in-the-Day, to move 
southward, and thus aid them in the final operations. 
Others deny this, declaring that the Chippewa depreda- 
tions against the Sioux precluded any such alliance. 

Captain Marsh defeated. — At first the Indians were 
successful in their miUtary operations. Captain Marsh, 



1 66 INDIANS ON THE WARPATH 

with Company B, Fifth Minnesota, left for the Lower 
Agency, about twelve miles to the northwest, at ten o'clock 
on the eighteenth of August. When the command reached 
the Redwood Ferry only one Indian was to be seen, al- 
though the party had passed some fifty bodies of whites 
on the way. But suddenly, as the soldiers were parleying 
with this Indian, a volley of bullets and arrows struck them. 
They were ambushed, and for two hours were forced to 
fight a losing battle, retreating the while toward the fort. 
Captain Marsh was drowned, twenty-four men were killed, 
and five were wounded. 

First attack on New Ulm. — Their success emboldened 
the Indians to press the campaign further. Soon they ap- 
peared before the village of New Ulm. On the afternoon of 
the eighteenth they made their first attack. Barricaded in 
the center of the town, the citizens defended themselves 
as well as they could, until reenforcements arrived from St. 
Peter, under Captain, afterwards Judge, Charles Flandreau. 
The attack then ceased until Saturday. During the interim 
the defenders picked up the bodies of many settlers who 
had been overtaken by the Indians on their way to the 
village. 

Failure at Ridgely. — During this lull at New Ulm, 
the Indians, under the command of Chief Mankato, tried 
to take Fort Ridgely. On Wednesday, the twentieth, the 
first attack was made, but the three pieces of artillery were 
too much for even Indian bravery. On Friday, Little 
Crow led 800 Indians and threw them against the fort 
for five hours, or until seven o'clock. Little Crow himself, 
wounded by a passing shell, had to retire, but Mankato 
urged on his braves. It was in vain, however ; the howitzer 
of Sergeant Jones threw its shells so menacingly near that 



INDIANS ON THE WARPATH 



167 




Attack on New Ulm. 



no charge was possible to men fighting in the open. Thus 
Ridgely was saved, although its ammunition ran so low 
that steel rods were cut up to serve as bullets, and shrapnel 
shells were opened and their bullets remolded by the 
women, before the fight was over. 

Second attack on New Ulm. — No sooner did the Indians 
give up the contest at Fort Ridgely than they renewed the 
attack upon New Ulm. All day Saturday and until noon 
Sunday the 1500 noncombatants, women, children, and 
invahd men, trembled, while the able-bodied men of the 
town, aided now by more reenforcements from St. Peter 
and Mankato, kept up the contest. The Indians succeeded 
in firing part of the town, and could have swept over it had 



i68 



INDIANS ON THE WARPATH 



they dared to risk an ambush, but they were afraid of being 
caught by rifle fire from the houses. So they were held in 
front until, as at Ridgely, they became discouraged. But 
they left thirty-four whites dead and sixty wounded. 




The fight at Birch Coulee 



Birch Coulee. — By August 27 Governor Ramsey had 
acted for the state, in appointing Henry Sibley commander 
of a force including parts of several regiments recruited 
for service in the south. Many from the Twin Cities 
volunteered. These were sent immediately to relieve the 
settlers and garrisons, which were in danger of being wiped 



INDIANS ON THE WARPATH 1 69 

out altogether. A detachment, chiefly of the Sixth Minne- 
sota under Captain Grant, was sent out to bury the dead, 
including those of Marsh's command. This detachment 
encamped at Birch Coulee, near a road running between 
Forts Ridgely and Abercrombie, and about ten miles 
from the Lower Agency, on the smooth prairie. They 
parked the wagons around, with the team horses fastened 
to them. The cavalry horses were fastened to a picket 
rope between the tents and wagons. Against the corral 
thus formed, on September i, about 200 Indians, led by 
Mankato and concealed in the timber of the coulee and in 
other favorable positions, made a fierce onset which lasted 
for three days. Little Crow, meanwhile, had made off 
towards Hutchinson. During this time the whites suffered 
much, losing twenty killed and sixty wounded. The Indians 
lost two killed and several wounded. On September 3 a 
detachment of 240 soldiers from Fort Ridgely, with the 
aid of a howitzer, drove the Indians back to the Yellow 
Medicine River. 

Terror at Hutchinson. — While these engagements were 
taking place along the river, another detachment of Indians 
was killing settlers and threatening the villages on the edge 
of the '' Big Woods." In the lake country of Kandiyohi 
County many fell victims to the marauders, and much 
plunder was gathered into the Indian villages. Little Crow, 
with no men, went against Forest City and Hutchinson. 
The settlers farther east had been warned, and at Glencoe 
Colonel John H. Stevens had assumed leadership. But 
on September 2 the overconfident Captain Strout, eager 
for renown, came into conflict with Little Crow and a 
small part of his band. Strout was driven into Hutchinson 
with a loss of five killed and about twenty wounded. The 



lyo INDIANS ON THE WARPATH 

Indians turned upon Forest City, but were surprised to 
find a stockade which kept the citizens safe from liarm. 

They then withdrew to attack Hutchinson, whose inhabit- 
ants, imitating the people of Forest City, had intrenched 
themselves behind a stockade in the center of the town. 
The suburbs, however, were not defended, and soon began 
to burn. Much plunder was taken from the empty 
houses, but the inhabitants continued safe behind the fort, 
and the Indians withdrew to their villages. Although 
scattered parties continued to kill and plunder for some 
time, there was no other organized campaign in this part 
of the state. 

Attack on Fort Abercrombie. — Fort Abercrombie, on the 
Red River, was attacked on September 3 and several de- 
fenders killed. On the sixth the attack was renewed by 
the Indians, now reenforced, and lasted all day. Again 
on the twenty-sixth and on the twenty-ninth further 
attacks were made. Perhaps less than 200 Indians all 
told were concerned in these fights. 

Sibley began to communicate with Little Crow im- 
mediately upon reaching the scene of hostilities. At 
Birch Coulee he left in a split stick a piece of paper reading 
as follows : 

If Little Crow has any proposition to make to me, let him send a 
half-breed to me, and he shall be protected in and out of my camp. 

H. H. Sibley, Col. Com'g Mil. Expedition. 

The scouts found and delivered the note to Little Crow, 
who replied through Joe Campbell, his secretary, as follows : 

Yellow Medicine, Sept 7. 
Dear Sir : For what reason we have commenced this war I will 
tell you, it is on account of Maj. Gilbraith. We made a treaty with 



INDIANS ON THE WARPATH 171 

the government a big for what little we do get, and then can't get it 
till our children was dicing with hunger — it is with the traders that 
commence. Mr. A. J. Myrick told the Indians they would eat grass. 
Then Mr. Forbes told the Lower Sioux that they were not men. 
Then Robert he was working with his friends how to defraud us of 
our money ; if the young braves have push the white man I have don(j 
this myself. So I want you to let the Governor Ramsey know this. 
I have a great many prisoner women and children. It aint all 
our fault that Winnebagoes was in the engagement, two of them 
were killed. I want you to give me answer by barer. All at present. 

his 

Yours Truely Friend, Little x Crow. 

mark 

per A. J. Cambell. 
Gov. H. H. Sibley, P_^sqr., Fort Ridgely. 

Sibley replied to this note, that he would talk to Little 
Crow " like a man," when the prisoners were returned. 
Little Crow wrote again, saying that he wanted to know 
what terms his people were to get, and that meanwhile the 
prisoners were faring " with our children or ourself just as 
well as us." Sibley answered by advising Little Crow to 
bring in the prisoners, and to keep his young men from 
kiUing any more whites. The friendly Indians, especially 
Paul, demanded that Little Crow deHver the prisoners. 
The upper bands were not responding very well to the 
call for reenforcements. The difhculty of banding even 
the lower tribes into a compact army to resist drilled troops 
was becoming greater. Despite these impediments to his 
success, however, Little Crow risked one more fight before 
he made peace. 

Battle Lake. — In the eastern part of Yellow Medicine 
County hes Battle Lake, two and a half miles south of the 
Lower Agency. Here Sibley made a camp on September 22. 
His command contained a considerable part of the Third 



172 



INDIANS ON THE WARPATH 



Regiment, later paroled by the Confederacy after its sur- 
render at Murfreesboro. The soldiers were chafing under 
what they called a disgrace, and were impatient of control. 
Stragghng away from camp, they drew the lire of the Indians 

before Little Crow 
was ready, and an- 
other battle was be- 
gun. The whites 
were soon being at- 
tacked by the hid- 
den warriors, but 
by the aid of their 
artillery they kept 
the Indians at a dis- 
tance. They suc- 
ceeded in killing the 
brave Mankato 
who had dared a 
cannon ball. In 
this fight the whites 
lost seven killed and 
thirty-four wounded , 
the Indians sixteen 
killed and fifty 
wounded. The lat- 
ter were greatly out- 
numbered and finally realized the uselessness of the un- 
equal contest, although a few still persisted in defying 
the white man. 

Death of Little Crow. — Wabasha now opened negotia- 
tions with Sibley, and separating himself from Little Crow 
promised to give up the prisoners. Little Crow, deserted 




Indian braves (Chippewa), 



INDIANS ON THE WARPATH 



173 



by all but 125 of the Sioux, fled to the Devils Lake country, 
where he endeavored in vain to rally a fighting force ; but 
he gradually lost his followers. The next year the warrior 
returned to Minnesota. On July 3 he and his young son 
were picking berries west of Hutchinson, when a settler 
came upon him and shot him. The Minnesota Historical 
Society still exhibits to visitors the skull, scalp, and arm 
bones of Little Crow. 




Escape from an Indian massacre. 



Trial of the Sioux. — Meanwhile Sibley received the 
prisoners, who were united to their friends amid a frenzy 
of joy. Then a court was instituted to try the Indians 
accused of committing murders. As a result of its delibera- 
tion, 303 Indians were condemned to death and 18 to 
imprisonment. But the ever-merciful Lincoln commuted 
the sentences of 264 to imprisonment, leaving 39 to be 
hanged. One of these was afterwards released, but the 
38 died, on Christmas Day, in true Indian fashion on the 
scaffold. 



174 INDIANS ON THE WARPATH 

Sibley's campaign. — After the revolt had been crushed, 
it remained to drive the Indians out of the state. With 
parts of the Sixth and Tenth regiments, with cavahy and 
artillery, and with ample provisions, Sibley began a cam- 
paign that lasted during most of the year 1863. The main 
object was accompUshed, for the Indian army, or rather 
bands of Indians, were forced to retire before the superior 
number and arms of the soldiers. With their usual adroit- 
ness and although burdened with their famihes, they with- 
drew before Sibley, skirmishing with the soldiers just enough 
to allow their squaws and papooses to escape from camp 
to camp. These skirmishes, called '' battles " in the annals 
of the regiments engaged, were all fought in Dakota, and 
hence do not properly belong to our story. The Indians at 
length succeeded in escaping from Sibley, and bade defiance 
to his troops from the west bank of the Missouri. 

General Sully's campaign. — During the following year 
the Minnesota regiments were a part of General Sully's 
army. They were ordered to drive the Indians still farther 
back and to crush them if possible. They succeeded in 
destroying two or three camps, and in kiUing with their 
artillery a few hundred Sioux, including some squaws and 
children. The Indians never returned to Minnesota. 
Those who had not taken part in the war were, however, 
allowed to live upon a small reservation at the source of 
the Minnesota, in Dakota Territory. Others who had 
learned to Hve like the whites continued to dwell at various 
places, notably at Shakopee, Mendota, and Redwood Falls. 
Some of these are still alive. 

Although gone as a separate race, the spirit of the Dakota 
still haunts the state. The lakes and rivers and water- 
fall that he named so beautifully still speak of the time 



INDIANS ON THE WARPATH 1 75 

when, untouched by a culture which he could not appre- 
ciate, he wandered childlike among them. The towns of 
the white man bear the names of Shakopee, Sleepy Eye, 
Wabasha, Mankato, Red Wing, and Good Thunder. 

SUMMARY 

Indians began the war over a nest of eggs, August 17, 1862. 

Massacre and destruction spread over the Minnesota Valley and 
along the edge of the Big Woods. 

New Ulm was successfully defended. 

Sibley rescued the whites in September. 

Sibley pursued the hostile Indians into Dakota, but they escaped. 
On Christmas Day 38 Sioux were executed at Mankato. 
Little Crow was shot near Hutchinson, in July, 1863. 
Minnesota regiments helped General Sully fight the Sioux in Dakota. 
After two years of warfare the Indians were subdued. 

QUESTIONS 

1. What was the plan of campaign devised by the Indians? Why 
was it unsuccessful? 

2. What Indian traits were revealed by the war? Mention good 
traits as well as bad. 

3. Why were the Indians unsuccessful in driving the whites from 
the state? 

4. Where did the Sioux go after the war? Are there any Sioux 
settlements in Minnesota? 

REFERENCES 

Captivity among the Sioux. — Mrs. N. White, Minnesota Historical 

Society Papers, Vol. g. 
Story of Mary Schwandt. — Minnesota Historical Society Papers, Vol. 6. 
A Sioux Story of the War. — Big Eagle, Minnesota Historical Society 

Papers, Vol. 10. 
History of Minnesota. — Charles Flandreau. 

Reminiscences of Little Crow. Asa Daniels, Minnesota Historical 
Society Papers, Vol. 12. 



CHAPTER XV 



MINNESOTA IN THE CIVIL WAR 

Minnesota answers the call. — Let us turn to the begin- 
ing of the Civil War, and see what part Minnesota played 
in the defense of the Union. In April, 1861, when the 




St. I'AUL SHORTLY BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF THE CiVIL WaR. 

famous shot was fired upon Fort Sumter, Governor Ram- 
sey was in Washington. It is of authentic record that 
he hastened to the White House, and offered Lincoln the 
first of the volunteers upon whom the President depended 
during the period that followed. Word of the acceptance of 
this offer was flashed to St. Paul, and Ignatius Donnelly, 

176 



MINNESOTA IN THE CIVIL WAR 177 

acting governor of the state, proclaimed to the boys of 
Minnesota that " Volunteers will be received at the city of 
St. Paul for one regiment of infantry to report to the ad- 
jutant general." To fill the ranks of that First Regiment 
citizens of St. Paul, St. Anthony, and Stillwater laid down 
their tools and rallied on the parade ground of old Fort 
SneUing, which had been selected as the rendezvous. 

The first regiment leaves. — Two months of eager prep- 
aration and drill were intermingled with gala-day oc- 
casions. On the latter the women of the cities vied with 
each other in deeds of generosity to the boys. The men 
gave regal entertainment to Colonel Gorman and his 
followers, under the trees of the Nicollet Island picnic 
ground. After the advice " to avoid whisky," and '' to 
rub hard soap into your stockings before pulling them on 
for a long march," with numberless private injunctions, 
had been fully appreciated, the First, clad in '^ black felt 
hats, black trousers, and red shirts," marched away to the 
boat which was to carry them down the Mississippi to 
Prairie du Chien. There they were transferred to the rail- 
road cars for the journey to the south. 

Thousands for defense. — The Second Regiment, gath- 
ered from many towns in the southeastern part of the 
state, filled the vacancy at Fort Snelling until it too went to 
do its part. Then followed thousand upon thousand, 
until eleven regiments of infantry, two companies of sharp- 
shooters, a regiment of heavy and two batteries of light 
artillery, two regiments and two battalions of cavalry, a 
detachment of engineers, and seventy-two colored men who 
joined various negro regiments, — in all more than 22,000 
men, — had volunteered to help Father Abraham '' preserve 
the Union at any cost." 

STORY OF MINN. — 12 



178 



MINNESOTA IN THE CIVIL WAR 



The Minnesota forces were employed chiefly in the lower 
Mississippi Valley. The Fifth, Seventh, Ninth, and Tenth 
regiments of infantry served in the Gulf country, especially 
at the taking of New Orleans and Mobile. The Sixth 
Regiment passed part of its time in the fever swamps of 
Arkansas, watching for the enemy, while malaria, a fiercer 
foe, was sweeping away its men, before joining the move- 
ment against the Gulf cities. The Second 
Regiment, after taking its full share in the 
battle of Chickamauga, under General 
Thomas, marched with Sherman to the 
sea. The Eighth was first active in the 
western campaign, then joined also in 
the famous journey. Two batteries 
of light artillery, one regiment of heavy 
artillery, and Brackett's battalion of 
cavalry were engaged in the west, the 
last named being pitted against the 
Confederate General Forrest. 

Meanwhile the First Regiment was 
winning laurels in the Army of the 
Potomac. In the Peninsular Cam- 
paign, and later at Gettysburg 
where it repelled a charge that 
threatened serious damage to the Union forces, at the cost 
of over half its number, the regiment brought glory to its 
state and the nation. Besides this regiment, two companies 
of sharpshooters served in the eastern campaigns. 

The soldiers and the Sioux. — Although no one feels 
that the Civil War was anything but a calamity to this 
nation, many admit that even the cloud of conflict prevented 
a more serious disaster in Minnesota. No sooner was the 




MINNESOTA IN THE CIVIL WAR 



179 



war fairly under way than the Sioux burst forth in revolt. 
Had there not been forces equipped and ready to move, the 
Indians might have been able to carry out their plan of raid- 
ing the Twin Cities and other places that they hoped to reach. 
As it was, the regiments that were being organized 
were able to contribute part of their forces to aid in defense 
of the border. Two companies of the Second Regiment 




LiBBY Prison. 

were thus engaged. The Third Regiment almost entire, re- 
leased from Libby Prison, where it had been since the 
battle of Murfreesboro, bore the brunt of the fighting at 
Wood Lake. Three companies of the Fifth, several com- 
panies of the Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth 
respectively, were in the various skirmishes and marches, 
and aided in the garrison details which the emergencies 
called forth. Besides these, Brackett's battalion of cavalry 
was used in the Sibley campaign. 

As the nation honored the military leaders that the Civil 
War developed, — Grant, Garfield, Hayes, and others, — 



l8o MINNESOTA IN THE CIVIL WAR 

SO Minnesota rewarded her officers. Stephen Miller, 
WiUiam R. Marshall, and Lucius F. Hubbard, colonels, were 
governors after the war. Counties were named after 
Marshall and Hubbard, and after the gallant Alexander 
Wilkin who was killed in battle. In the Capitol there are 
statues of Hubbard, Wilkin, and Colonel Colville of the 
First Regiment. 

To gain a more definite idea of the fortunes of war as 
they were viewed by the boys of Minnesota, we must read 
the many volumes of stories and reminiscences that have 
been published. It is not out of place here, however, to 
quote from a letter sent home to Minnesota by a soldier 
who served his country during the entire time of the war. 
He joined the Second Regiment at Fort Snelling in the 
summer Of 1861, and was soon on the river. His lirst im- 
pression of the life of a soldier is given in these words : 

" We are here in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We landed 
last night at six o'clock, and I must say the route has been 
one of the most touching scenes (especially here) that I 
have ever witnessed. As we were marching on the side- 
walks, what could we hear but the shouts of the people, 
the ' God bless you,' and the ' Good-by, soldiers,' and the 
top-off when hundreds of little girls would reach out their 
hands and say, ' Good-by, soldiers.' This is a nice place.'* 

But the more serious side of war is presented in the follow- 
ing extracts from letters sent home during the war : 

" It is a funny sight to see the boys along toward night on 
the march. They have a fancy gait, — some go on one leg, 
some on their toes, and some on their heels, some in their 
stocking feet, some barefoot, — not because they are 
lame, but for effect, you know ! " 

" We have to carry forty pounds per man, the tramp to 



MINNESOTA IN THE CIVIL WAR l8l 

be Hflecn miles per day. I was about whipi)e(l in twelve 
miles. There were a hundred who fell out of our regiment. 
As soon as we arrived we heated some water in a cup, and 
had a little coffee and hard bread, which constituted our 
supper." 

'' We have been travehng six days and have made only 
sixty miles, — mud up to our ankles. The first thing when 
we stopped would be to get some wood, the next to get some 
straw and leaves for our beds, then stake out our tents, 
then eat our supper, then go to bed." 

'' A person must be very tough and hardy to stand the 
hardship of marching by day and sleeping on a board, a 
little hay, or the ground." 

'' Edgar is sleeping by my side, dozing off the effects of 
twenty-four hours of picket duty in the rain. There are 
two men under arrest for sleeping on post. They will be 
shot, I suppose." 

" There is no need to tell you that I have been off the 
hooks for three weeks with the blue jaundice as they call it, 
— not so but I could be around all of the time and help 
fight. I have only weighed 135 pounds ; but I am feehng 
well now. If a fellow is sick here and has any appetite 
whatever, he has to eat stufT that a well stomach can hardly 
digest, or go to the sutler's and pay four times what the 
article is worth. I bought a little tea to-day at the rate 
of $2 a pound, some butter, crackers, and everything at 
the same rate." 

" The climate here has a weakening effect on the northern 
constitution. Most everyone complains of being so weak 
that he can hardly stand up. It may be owing to our diet. 
A person cannot sit down and eat a full meal, or he will be 
sick for a week." 



1 82 MINNESOTA IN THE CIVIL WAR 

^' We have breakfast at 5 : 30, and no dinner but what a 
person takes in the shape of hard bread to be munched 
between meals, and supper some days at 3 and sometimes 
at 8, just as it happens." 

'' Dinner consists invariably of bouillon, which we hardly 
ever touch, and sometimes good beef. Bill of fare : Break- 
fast, — coffee, fried pork, hard bread ; dinner, — bouillon, 
made of pork, and a few beans put in ; supper, — coffee, 
pork, and hard bread." 

'^ Those who have been sick and had to go to the hospitals 
and then come back to the company are good for nothing, 
and generally get sick on the first day's march." 

'' I do not want you to take this as complaining of poor 
food. For myself I fare as well as I expected, and am as 
contented here as I was in Minnesota." 

" There must be as many as four or five letters on the road 
for me, but I cannot imagine where. Some still think that 
we shall get our back mail. I hope so, for it does seem 
so good to get a letter from you. If anything in the world 
will encourage a soldier, it is word from home." 

" This (the battle of Shiloh) has been the greatest battle 
fought, and you would think so to have seen and heard as 
much as I have since we came here. I have been around 
day after day, but suppose that I have not gone over one 
tenth of the ground yet. From 25 to 75 die every day 
of their wounds, and still there seem as many as ever." 

'^ Dear mother, I am one of the few that still follow the 
riddled flag. Thirty-eight out of a hundred and eighty-five 
were killed or wounded. One ball passed through my 
blouse by my elbow, and several passed so close to my head 
as to be anything but comfortable. I never knew what it 
was to be tired before we made those two charges. The 



MINNESOTA IN THE CIVIL WAR 183 

order came to charge, which was done with a yell seldom 
heard. Was it possible ? It was an open field where the 
enemy could have fair play at us with their cannon and 
muskets, both at the same time, both at the top and at the 
bottom of the Ridge (Missionary Ridge). But minding it 
not, we pushed forward to the first works, which gave us 
a shelter from their deadly missiles that came from the 
top. ' Forward ! March ! ' was given, which every man 
promptly obeyed by jumping the works and giving a yell at 
the same time. As soon as fifty men had reached the top 
we made another charge and captured a battery. But it 
took a half hour's hard fighting before they would consent to 
give it up. Still another charge was made, with the same 
effect and the same resistance. Down the hill they went, 
helter-skelter, leaving us in possession of the Ridge. The 
next day we pursued Bragg." 

Thus the men of Minnesota took their part in the war. 
To meet the shock of battle, to bear the pain of the long 
marches, to suffer from fever and exposure, — this was their 
lot. With courage and determination they faced each 
danger, and wrote to their friends such messages as this : 

'' I will help till the thing is over if it takes five years. 
You may think that's getting patriotic, but it's the truth. 
We might as well fight them now as to fight them five years 
from now, which we will have to do if it is settled by a 
compromise. When they are once whipped, — one nation. 
None would like to go home more than I would, but I am 
bound to do my duty and bound to be in the front rank, if 
there is any fighting going on." 

That this was not an idle boast is proved by the fact that 
the sender of the message was made a first lieutenant 
soon after the letter was written. 



1 84 MINNESOTA IN THE CIVIL WAR 

So we see that Minnesota made a worthy contribution 
to every branch of the service, sending in all, according to 
the report of the adjutant general, 22,018 boys (the average 
age was nineteen), of whom 14,775 were infantry, 3,975 
cavalry, 2,448 artillery, and 820 unassigned, including 
engineers and some 70 negro volunteers. Of the number, 
34 ofhcers and 601 enUsted men were killed in action, and 
32 officers and 1,904 enlisted men died of disease. These 
casualties do not take into account those who died as the 
result of wounds, disease, or exposure, shortly after the 
close of the war. 

As has been indicated, most of the Minnesota boys were 
engaged in the western armies. Very properly the state 
has signalized their sacrifice by erecting monuments on 
the battlefields of Shiloh, Vicksburg, Gettysburg, Chicka- 
mauga, and Missionary Ridge. Just as properly it could 
erect stones of fame to honor those who died on Arkansas 
fields or in Louisiana lowlands, whether by bullet or swamp 
fever ; and could raise monuments to the memory of those 
cheated of the worldly glory of battle, by the duties of 
camp or the rigors of the outpost. 

While these boys toiled to uphold the Union, their 
fathers and brothers at home were toiUng to build Min- 
nesota more compactly into that Union. Their mothers 
and sisters were supporting both soldiers and farmers, by 
equally hard toil and hearty sympathy. For all, the united 
nation is the best monument. 

SUMMARY 

Minnesota had an important part in the Civil War. 
She was the first to offer a regiment to Lincoln. 
This regiment played a brave part at Gettysburg. 



MINNESOTA IN THE CIVIL WAR 185 

Ten other regiments, besides cavalry, artillery, and engineers, con- 
tributed to the success of the generals in the west, and also aided 
Sherman on the march to the sea. 

The spirit of the soldiers was revealed in their letters. 

QUESTIONS 

I. What was IMinnesota's share in the Civil War? 
2 What traits are revealed by the letters of the Minnesota sol- 
diers? 

REFERENCES 

Minnesota in the Civil and the Indian War. — State Publication, 1889. 
Letters to his Mother. — E. \. Dickey, First Lieutenant, Company I, 

Second Regiment. 
Report of the Adjutant General. 



CHAPTER XVI 

TRIALS OF THE PIONEERS 

Courageous reports. — Not even the stress of civil war 
or the terror of Indians could stop the progress of Minnesota. 
In fact, at the very time when Grant was harassing Lee 
before Richmond, St. Anthony and Minneapolis were calmly 
issuing the first annual report of their manufacturing and 
commercial achievements. This report showed what had 
already been done to use the water power, and what was 
being contemplated, — namely, the construction of a 
great plank apron to prevent the falls from moving farther 
up the river, or from becoming rapids on account of the 
destruction of the rocky shelf over which their waters 
poured. 

In that report was advertised the health-giving cli- 
mate of Minnesota, a climate good for those " suffering 
from pulmonary troubles." At the same time the beauty 
of river and lake, prairie and forest, upland and valley, 
by their rich variety invited the pleasure seeker and 
coaxed the investor. The investors would vindicate every 
advertisement sent eastward and abroad, no matter in how 
glowing terms it was written. Such courage and energy 
increased the population of the state from 172,000 to 
250,000, between i860 and 1865. 

Great advancement. — When the anxiety of the war 
had ended, and the undivided energy- of the state was free 

i86 



TRIALS OF THE PIONEERS 187 

to work for the happiness of its people, Minnesota took 
another long leap forward. Returning soldiers, some with 
savings from their scanty pay, were glad to receive employ- 
ment in the shops of the towns, or become, after the man- 
ner of their parents who had developed the eastern part of 
the state, pioneers on the farthest western margin. Thus 
the prophecy was proved untrue that soldiers, used to the 
somewhat loose order of the camp, would become a disturb- 
ing element in a community that desired progress and de- 
manded hard and constant work, in order to insure pros- 
perity. With these soldiers came many comrades from 
other states. And behind all these came more from 
what had been the far west a few years before, 
Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Finally the 
Scandinavians, urged by an immigration society that was 
determined to see a good class of people settled within the 
state, came by thousands. 

By these additions and the natural birth rate, the 
population of the state increased during the next five 
years to nearly 450,000, of whom 160,000, or 35 per 
cent were foreign born. In the following three years 
100,000 more were added, and in 1873 there were in 
Minnesota nearly 40 per cent of foreign born. Many of 
these settlers wxnt to the Red River Valley, opened in 
1863 by treaty with the Chippew^as. 

Thrifty settlers. — These Germans and Scandinavians 
were stanch, thrifty, and progressive. That all but one 
person in eighteen could read and write, despite the poor 
school facilities, according to the census of 1870, proves 
something as to the worth of these immigrants. Still 
more impressive is the report of the superintendent of 
instruction, for 1872. (See page 188.) 



1 88 TRIALS OF THE PIONEERS 

Number of persons of school age 180,000 

Number atlending school 125,000 

Number of teachers 4,712 

Average monthly wages of teachers $31 

Number of schoolhouses 2,470 

Number built m 1872 229 

Amount expended for schools $990,900 

The newcomers were industrious, intelligent, and reli- 
gious. Wherever they went they established churches. 
Before church buildings could be constructed they gathered 
in sod or log cabins, often walking more than ten miles 
to attend the services. Ministers took charge of parishes 
containing sometimes five or six stations, where two or 
three families could be gathered together. 

Improvement in education. — It needs but a casual 
glance at the figures given above, after looking at the doleful 
report of Secretary Blakely on page 143, to convince any 
one that education in Minnesota had become a serious 
matter. Especially is it to be observed that the quality 
of teaching had vastly improved. Two more normal 
schools, one opened at Mankato in 1868, and one at St. 
Cloud in the following year, employing twelve skilled 
instructors, were training nearly 500 young men and women 
to raise the standard still higher. The University of 
Minnesota, reorganized in 1867 and placed in the care of 
Dr. William W. Folwell, was offering instruction in agricul- 
ture, engineering, law, and medicine, as well as sustaining 
the classical courses of the eastern colleges and support- 
ing a preparatory department. It had purchased an ex- 
perimental farm and had begun to suggest to the farmers 
of the state how to make the most of their holdings, for 
the least expenditure of time and money. 



TRIALS OF THE PIONEERS 



189 



In 1866 Carle ton College was established at Northfield, 
and a little later Hamline was reestablished at St. Paul. 
Macalester was also at St. Paul. 

Good leadership and the results. — Under the rule of 
such people it is no wonder that Minnesota progressed. 
She had given countless bales of fur to voyageurs and had 
made her Sibleys and Rices rich and powerful. Before 
the sighs of the fur traders over the dismal prospect of 
failing revenue had died away, she had begun to turn 
over money to lumber kings. She offered rich reward 
to the farmer who had risked his all and braved the 
rigors of pioneer life, who had taken his family into 
places remote from all the comforts that people prize, 
and had carried civilization far out into the Indian country. 

Wheat, oats, and corn, displacing buffalo grass, yielded 
in 1872 a total of 50,000,000 bushels, and brought Minne- 
sota near to the top of the list of grain-growing states. 
Led by Hennepin County, nearly forty counties affiliated 
in the State Agricultural Society, striving to carry the 
gospel of good seed and careful culture to the most remote 
community. The results of this energy are partly shown 
b}' the following table. 



Years 


Horses 


Cattle 


Sheep 


Hogs 


1850 


860 


2,100 


80 


730 


i860 


1 7 ,000 


96,000 


12,600 


104,000 


1870 


93,000 


310,000 


132,000 


185,000 


1871 


114,000 


330,000 






1872 


127,000 


380,000 


134,500 





The faith of these settlers in the climate and in the produc- 
tive powers of the state is proved further by the fact that 



IQO 



TRIALS OF THE PIONEERS 



in 1872 they had planted 1,000,000 apple trees and had 
gathered 30,000 bushels of fruit. The farms thus faith- 
fully administered contained nearly 3,000,000 acres, worth 
about $50,000,000. 

Pioneer hardships. — The rigors of the earlier colonists 
in the eastern counties were repeated, but with added 
severity, on the western border, during these years after the 
Civil War, and indeed well on into the eighties. To fight 
for very life against the elements, to wonder where the 
next meal is coming from, to see the sick child die, helpless 
even to save it from pain, — a hardy race it takes to endure 







•'•L""(iii((_""A ''""'M<:S 



Settling the prairies — Morris, Minnesota, in 1871. 



these hardships. Vast treeless plains, stretching away on 
both sides from the Minnesota River, were easier to subdue 
for farm land than the stumpy forest ground, but the ease 
of cultivation was paid for dearly. Blizzards swept across 
the prairie, obliterating every trace of the faint trail. There 
were no fences, guideposts, or landmarks of any kind ; and 
many a victim was caught on the way from his house to 
his barn, and was buried beneath a deep drift, sometimes 
within a few feet of safety. Frost struck to the very bone 
of the traveler, costing him feet or hands. 

In those days the railroad was not much better equipped 
to contend with the blizzard than was the settler ; and often 



TRIALS OF THE PIONEERS 191 

it had to abandon long stretches of track for months to- 
gether. Then the coal would give out, and Jack Frost 
would invade the little homes of the pioneers, driving them 
to bed for days at a time. If they had not taken this 
refuge, they would have lost their lives. Provisions were 
so low at times that the very cattle had to share their 
scanty rations with the householders. In these days of 
straight, high-graded roads, from which the snow blows 
away as fast as it comes ; of telephone lines ; of large houses 
near together, to which the mail carrier comes daily, it is 
hard to understand what a Minnesota winter in the sixties 
or seventies was like. 

The winter of 187 2-1873 brought the severest of these 
storms. Inexperienced settlers became lost on the prairie 
by hundreds, and those who survived suffered untold 
privations, in the days following the seventh of January 
of that year. Reports of the disaster, like most reports, 
were of course exaggerated ; but when the truth could be 
ascertained it was found that seventy had perished, and 
that a much greater number had been so frostbitten 
that they were maimed for life. 

Minnesota climate. — Such terrible experiences as these 
have led many old settlers to the belief that the climate of 
Minnesota was much more severe in the early days than 
it is at present, a view not substantiated by the weather 
records. Just as in any one season cold and warm waves 
alternate, so in a series of years there will be '^ open " 
winters, such as made Carver think that Minnesota was 
warmer than New England, followed by such severe weather 
as made Penicault write that Minnesota was colder than 
Canada. 
- The summer had its terrors as well. The fierce heat 



192 TRIALS OF THE PIONEERS 

bore down heavily on the ill- ventilated houses, or rather 
shacks. The flies swept in through the unscreened windows 
by day, and the mosquitoes swarmed from the undrained 
marshes by night. Greatly exaggerated stories of torna- 
does and the real freaks of the high winds were so numerous 
that a cyclone cellar became almost a fad. Sometimes 
the rain swept through the leaky roof, to the depression 
of all the household. One woman records with amusement, 
after thirty years, the fact that her husband held a buffalo 
robe over her as she lay ill, to prevent the water from flood- 
ing her bed. Lightning sometimes destroyed in an instant 
the work of years ; or the prairie fire, started by Indians, by 
some careless traveler or the engine spark, swept away 
haystacks, machinery, and even the buildings of the settler. 
Now groves surround most farms to protect the dweUings 
from fierce wind or hghtning, and there are no longer 
open prairies to be fired. Houses are built snug and 
waterproof ; both the fly and the mosquito are in the way 
of extermination. It seems like a dream to believe that 
ills so grievous, yet so easy to conquer, could have been 
such a menace in the past. 

The grasshopper plague. — The most terrible scourge 
that befell Minnesota in these years came not of heat or cold, 
drought or flood, fly or mosquito, but from grasshoppers. 
Every old settler may forget many incidents relating to 
those commoner scourges ; he will never forget the moment 
when he stood watching that dark cloud approaching from 
the west. It came upon a bright spring day in 1873, 
when the wheat showed green in the sunlight. It came 
darker and darker, until it filled the air with milhons of 
buzzing grasshoppers, or rather locusts. Then, as people 
shut doors and windows to keep out the insects, the pests 



TRIALS OF THE PIONEERS 



193 



settled upon everything out of doors that had the remotest 
connection with vegetation, were it tender wheat or blankets 
airing on the clothesline. In less than an hour they had 
reduced the green fields to black deserts ; they had clipped 
the pastures to dust, and had spread devastation and dis- 




The grasshopper pest. 



may far and wide. That was the beginning of the grass- 
hopper time. No one of the plagues of Egypt could have 
been worse. 

The grasshoppers continued to spoil the crops and other 
possessions of the farmers at intervals until 1878. South- 
western Minnesota was most affected. Perhaps a line 
drawn north and south through Mankato, and a line west 



STORY OF MINN. 



13 



194 TRIALS OF THE PIONEERS 

from Glencoe would be fairly accurate eastern and northern 
boundaries, respectively, of the stricken district. Des- 
perate attempts were made to kill the young of the grass- 
hoppers. A favorite method was to drag over the field a 
piece of sheet iron on which tar had been plentifully smeared. 
The insects would jump up and get caught in the tar. 
Another scheme was to leave a strip of grass running 
through the plowed land for the young to mature in ; then 
to fire the strip. Still another plan was to dig a ditch and 
drive the pests into it. Some relief came to the settler 
through these and kindred plans, but not until the experi- 
ment station at the Agricultural College had concocted an 
insecticide were the hoppers conquered. During this time 
the state had been obliged to pay more than $30,000 in re- 
lief funds, to help those farmers who had suffered most to 
get a fresh start. 

Increase in manufacturing. — Meanwhile the sawmills 
had been busy. In the Stillwater district more than 
200,000,000 feet of lumber were scaled in 1872, and in 
the Minneapolis district, including the upper Mississippi 
mills, about 150,000,000 feet. At Duluth about 7,000,000 
feet more were being cut. This lumber was worth $500,- 
000,000. Other manufacturing was slower in developing, 
but the flour mills, to the number of 208, were turning out a 
product valued at $7,000,000 annually, while the demands 
of the lumbermen and farmers for blacksmithing, harness, 
implements, wagons, and machinery created a value of 
$4,000,000. Houses, that were rapidly taking the place 
of the pioneer dugouts and shacks, were using nearly 
$2,000,000 worth of sash, doors, and furniture; and to 
supply the increasing population with shoes, Minnesota 
was making $500,000 worth a year. 



TRIALS OF THE PIONEERS 



195 



New centers. — Villages were springing up all over the 
state. Next to Hennepin and Ramsey counties, Winona 
County, with its city of the same name, showed the largest 
population. Faribault, Red Wing, Mankato, Stillwater, 
Rochester, Worthington, Owatonna, and Northfield were 
aspiring to become cities. North of St. Paul, Anoka 
and St. Cloud were almost the only places of distinction, 
except the settle- 
ment of Duluth 
which contained less 
than 5000 people, 
but was made fa- 
mous by James Proc- 
tor Knott's speech 
in the United States 
Senate in 1878. 
Amused by the dis- 
cussion over a pro- 
posed grant of land 
for a railroad to 
Duluth, among 
other things he 
said : 

''Duluth! Duluth! But where was Duluth? Never 
in all my limited reading had my vision been gladdened by 
seeing the celestial word in print. ... I must have gone 
down to my grave in despair because I could nowhere 
find Duluth, had it not been for this map kindly furnished 
by the legislature of Minnesota. I find by reference to 
this map that Duluth is situated somewhere near the west- 
ern end of Lake Superior, exactly thirty-nine hundred miles 
from Liverpool. ... I have been under the impression 




Beginnings of Duluth. 



196 TRIALS OF THE PIONEERS 

that in the region around Lake Superior it was quite cold 
enough for at least nine months in the year to freeze the 
smokestack off a locomotive. But I see it represented on 
this map that Duluth is situated exactly halfway between 
the latitudes of Paris and Venice. I have no doubt that 
Byron was trying to convey some faint conception of the 
delicious charms of Duluth when his poetic soul gushed 
forth : 

" 'Know ye the land of the cedar and vine, 

Where the flowers ever blossom, the beams ever shine ; 
Where the citron and olive are fairest of fruit, 
And the voice of the nightingale never is mute ? ' 

" My constituents have no more interest in this bill than 
they have in the great question of culinary taste now per- 
haps agitating the public mind of Dominicans, as to whether 
the illustrious commissioners who recently left this capital 
for that free and enlightened republic would be better 
fricasseed, boiled, or roasted. . . . Shall I betray that trust 
(of the pubKc lands) ? Never, Sir ! Perish Duluth, 
rather ! Let the freezing cyclone of the bleak northwest 
bury it forever beneath the eddying sands of the raging 
St. Croix ! " 

The speech was received by the nation with delight. If 
to-day some one should plan to develop Captain Amundsen's 
new-found lands beyond the Antarctic Circle, he could not 
be made much more absurd than were the promoters of 
the railway to Duluth. Then, only the few farsighted ones 
could perceive that within a generation the city would take 
its place among the great ports of the world. Still fewer 
could see that the scattered villages of Minnesota would 
soon be joined by trunk railway lines. No one had dreamed 



TRIALS OF THE PIONEERS 



197 



that the isolated farmers would receive their mail every 
morning, do their errands by telephone, or their marketing 
by trolley. Then, a storm was a tragedy and below-zero 
weather a constant dread. In fact, it was supposed that 
the low temperatures were average temperatures. It did 
not take a settler long, however, to realize that blizzards 
and cold spells were so infrequent as to become lost in the 




The first lighthouse on Lake Superior. 



memory of a long season of weather rather temperate 
than arctic. 

Newspapers. — During the Civil War the increase of 
newspapers was remarkable. In 1857 there were only 
76 weeklies and seven dailies; in 1866 there were 173 
weeklies and nine dailies. WilHam R. Marshall had com- 
bined the Minnesotian and Times with the Press, and asso- 
ciated with him Joseph Wheelock, who for a half century 
was to be a leading, in many respects the leading editor of 
the northwest. In 1872 The Pioneer and the Press were 



198 TRIALS OF THE PIONEERS 

combined under the name Pioneer Press. In Minneapolis 
the Tribune had been pubHshed for some time before the 
Pioneer Press bought it, together with the Evening Mail, 
also pubhshed in MinneapoUs. But the next year the 
Mail was sold and its name changed to the Evening Trib- 
une. Later a morning edition began to be published ; 
hence the now familiar name was revived. 

In 1867 H. P. Hall estabhshed the St. Paul Dispatch, 
to fight the Ramsey forces and help Ignatius Donnelly. 
But one morning the people of the state were surprised to 
learn that the paper had been sold to the Republicans, 
and had changed its politics over night. Hall, however, 
started the St. Paul Globe as a Democratic paper in 1878. 
It continued until 1905. There was a Journal, as there 
was a Tribune in Minneapolis, that made a vain struggle 
for life, but in 1878 the name was given to a new venture, 
which with several changes in administration has been 
permanent. In Duluth the first daily was born in 1880. 
During this period of expansion the daiUes increased in 
number in the smaller communities. There were in all 
more than 300 papers published in the state in the year 
1878. 

SUMMARY 

Between 1865 and 1878, despite hardship, there was great advance- 
ment on the part of pioneers. 
The manufacturers of St. Anthony showed faith. 
A fine class of settlers continued to enter the state. 
Educational reports showed improvement. 
Some 3,000,000 acres of land were farmed. 
Settlers suffered from storm, heat, and grasshoppers. 
Manufacturing increased steadily. 
Duluth became known as a port. 



TRIALS OF THE PIONEERS 1 99 

QUESTIONS 

1. Does it take as much bravery to be a pioneer as it does to be a 
soldier ? 

2. Why are Germans and Scandinavians good pioneers? 

3. Why is it that severe weather or storms affect farmers less to- 
day than in the seventies? 

4. What has helped to prevent loss from insects? 

5. Why was Duluth so mirth-provoking? 

6. How do newspapers help to develop a country? 

REFERENCES 

Reminiscences, Minneapolis Journal, Nov. 9, 19 13. — Frank Peterson, 

D.D. 
Lake Benton News {Files). 

Account of Pioneer Life, Minneapolis Journal. — Dr. J. S. Johnson. 
Speech of Proctor Knott in the United States Senate, 18/8. 
United States Census Reports. 

Report of Superintendent of Public Instruction. — Henry Burt. 
The Pioneer (Files). 



CHAPTER XVII 

THE RAILROADS 

Extent of railroad construction. — By 1872 great prog- 
ress had been made in railway construction. The St. Paul 
and Pacific railroad had reached Breckenridge and Sauk 
Rapids and approached close to St. Vincent. The St. 
Paul and Chicago, afterwards the Milwaukee and St. 
Paul, reached La Crescent. The Winona and St. Peter, 
taking the place of the Transit and building twenty miles 
a year, pulled a train to its western goal. The Southern 
Minnesota, using the old Root River franchise, crossed 
the state as far as Winnebago, and then was sold to 
the Milwaukee and St. Paul. The Minnesota Valley, 
becoming the St. Paul and Sioux City, was built to 
Worthington. The Lake Superior and Mississippi reached 
Duluth and leased itself to the St. Paul and Pacific. 

The Minnesota Central, on a grant to the Minneapohs 
and Cedar Valley, ran trains to McGregor, Iowa, and then 
sold out to the Milwaukee and St. Paul. The latter also 
bought the Hastings and Dakota, that had built from 
Hastings as far west as Glencoe. The Minneapohs and St. 
Louis was operating as far as Carver. Besides these, the 
Northern Pacific, organized by stockholders of the St. 
Paul and Pacific, had crossed the state from Duluth to 
Moorhead, before it began to operate the Lake Superior 
and Mississippi, the Minneapohs and St. Louis, and two 

200 



THE RAILROADS 20I 

short lines, — the Minneapohs and Duluth, built as far 
as White Bear Lake, and the Stillwater and St. Paul. 

It is clear from this resume that in 1872 there were four 
great systems : the St. Paul and Pacific, operating 881 
miles ; the Milwaukee and St. Paul, 547 miles ; the Winona 
and St. Peter, 284 miles ; and the St. Paul and Sioux City, 
188 miles ; which with their extensions and the smaller lines 
made a total mileage of more than 1900 miles for the state. 

Panic of 1873. — It seemed as though the fates had com- 
bined to vex the people of Minnesota. Besides the terrors 
of the weather and the insect plague, financial panic came 
once more. Overuse, especially in the years from 1868 
to 1872, had stretched credit too far. Consequently busi- 
ness and industry suffered a blow from which they were long 
in recovering. The crash came in 1873. From that time 
to 1878 times were very hard. The onward rush of the rail- 
roads, which had built 350 miles of hne in the state in 1872, 
was nearly stopped, for during that five years only 87 miles 
of line were constructed. This fact would be sufficient to 
show the combined effect of the panic and grasshoppers. 
But in the records a disheartening tale of broken busi- 
ness and discouraged farmers is unfolded. Dependent still 
upon eastern capital managed through eastern financial 
agents, the west almost instantly felt the pull of the de- 
pression and suffered terribly. 

Railroad rates. — To add to the distress, the railroad 
companies, which had been given nearly a third of the state, 
to guarantee, as Governor Austin so well said, '' cheap trans- 
portation to both city and country," assumed the right to 
make their own rates. Not even the indignation aroused 
by the failure of the companies after they had received the 
state bonds was as great as the agitation caused by this 



202 



THE RAILROADS 



injustice. As early as 1870, protests were made in the party 
platforms against the practice of preventing compe'tition by 
consolidation of competing lines, and exacting extortionate 
rates for the transportation of freight and passengers. 

A call was issued to all men irrespective of past party 
affiliation, to ^' take the robbers by the throat." That 

railroads should under- 
take to grade grain, and 
favor certain patrons, 
was deemed a further 
cause for complaint at 
later gatherings. Still 
another cause was the 
discrimination against 
certain towns in the 
matter of rates. For in- 
stance, the rate on wheat 
from Owatonna to Wi- 
nona was 2.6 cents, but 
from Rochester, forty 
miles nearer Winona, it 
was 6 cents. Similarly, 
Owatonna shipped lum- 
ber for $18 a carload, and 
Faribault paid $29.50. 
It was expected that the legislature of 187 1 would pass the 
drastic legislation called for by Governor Austin. Said 
one paper : " Almost every other member had a bill to 
launch upon the subject." It promised to be the leading 
topic of the session. 

Railway commissioner's report. — The railway commis- 
sioner reported to the legislature of 1872 that the roadways 




Governor Horace Austin. 



THE RAILROADS 203 

were frequently poorly constructed. They were often on 
sharp curves and unballasted with gravel or rock. The iron 
was inadequate to the task imposed upon it, in many cases 
being nearly worn out by rust. The bridges were of timber 
construction, even where stone was available. Such con- 
ditions existed despite the fact that these roads had been 
granted a total of nearly 12,000,000 acres of land, of which 
by 1872 they had sold more than $2,000,000 worth. They 
had received also municipal bonuses to the extent of about 
$2,500,000. They had shouldered upon the state the 
burden of meeting $2,275,000 in bonds, which it had allowed 
the first companies to issue at its expense. Against this 
state aid, companies in their reports to the commissioner 
admitted paying in only $20,000,000 capital. 

Governor Austin's stand. — Governor Austin, a pro- 
gressive before that word was in common use, suggested 
to the legislature that it remain firm in its effort to obtain 
justice for the people of the state. He asked that the legis- 
lature save the people from further usurpation of their 
rights. He declared that '' all companies local or now resi- 
dent" had "set at defiance the legislation of the two ses- 
sions concerning tariffs on railroad rates." This was the 
case notwithstanding that the legislature " had dealt 
considerately, allowing them rates that were as a rule 
liberal and sufficient." He was especially emphatic against 
the ungrateful attitude of the companies towards the cities. 
These cities, he said, paid '' hundreds of thousands of dollars 
to procure the construction of the roads, that they might 
enjoy cheap transportation and especially cheap fuel." 
The cities had been recently threatened with a fuel famine 
and " were still oppressed by prices beyond the reach of the 
poorer classes." He went on to say that, notwithstanding 



204 THE RAILROADS 

this famine, the settler within an hour's ride of the cities 
was reaUzing " hardly enough on his wood to pay him 
for cutting and hauhng it to the station." 

In view of such an unpatriotic spirit on the part of men 
who asserted that they were the great developers of the 
country, Governor Austin proposed laws to prevent con- 
spiracies against trade. With a long look into the future, 
foreseeing still tighter railroad monopoly, he proposed the 
improvement of the waterways, especially the old Fox- 
Wisconsin River and Red River routes. The state is on 
the way, finally, to nulhfy the claim of the railroads that 
they ought to operate their lines as though these were 
private institutions, in the interests of their stockholders. 
This is due to the persistent efforts of a few such men as 
Austin, tb whom farmers and manufacturers and merchants 
alike owe a debt of lasting gratitude. 

Contest over rates and service. — In the ten years follow- 
ing, the contest was carried on with vigor on both sides. 
The state added to its laws for the restriction of rate- 
making and other powers assumed by the railroads. The 
companies kept the best legal talent busy, finding errors in 
the laws, through which they might escape regulation. 
Through their free pass and lobby pohcy, they achieved 
many a victory for themselves, within the very halls of 
the legislature. The steady opposition of Austin alone 
headed off the '' land grab " bill, designed to add to the 
already large gifts of the state, the lands set aside for 
internal improvements. One law classified freight and set 
a maximum passenger fare at five cents a mile. Another 
imposed a three per cent tax on the gross earnings of the 
land grant companies. Still another provided for a railroad 
commissioner to watch over the interests of the people. 



THE RAILROADS 205 

Afterwards the number of commissioners was increased 
to three, with power to fix rates and compel the enforcement 
of the railroad regulations. These regulations were far- 
reaching. They included the furnishing of cars when 
requested, the reception of freight and the forwarding of it 
with reasonable dispatch, and the reasonable rental of 
necessary sidetracks for mills and factories. The railroads 
were to charge only such rates as were fixed by the commis- 
sioners and published for the information of the shippers. 
Laws were passed, making railroads responsible for fires 
along their lines and taxing warehouses on railroad property. 
Two cents a bushel was made the highest rate that might 
be charged for handling grain. The privileges of the com- 
panies were otherwise limited. In 1874 it seemed as if the 
state were rescued, — that farmer and business man alike 
were to be satisfied. 

Reaction in favor of the railroads. — Then came a re- 
action. The railways faced obligations that they could 
not meet. Two companies went into the hands of receivers, 
three failed to pay interest, and the rest assessed their 
stockholders. The time for testing radical legislation was 
unfortunately chosen. Commissioner Edgerton aroused 
indignation from the very people who had clamored for 
reform, by declaring that he had exacted sums from the 
Winona and St. Peter railway, amounting to $30,000 be- 
yond its proper credit. The papers of the state began to 
declaim against what they called a '' senseless railway 
war." So the law of 1873 was repealed and the Morse law 
substituted. 

The Morse law. — This abolished the commission of 
three, with its strong powers, and restored the single com- 
missioner with, as one man put it, '' clerical power of 



2o6 THE RAILROADS 

gathering statistics and reporting to the governor." Many 
legislators opposed the principle of the change. They voted 
for it " only out of consideration for the impoverished 
condition of the railroads." 

The new law made it the duty of the commissioner to 
inquire into the neglect of the laws by the companies. He 
was to inspect each railroad with reference to safety, to 
report annually on its financial condition, and to make such 
recommendations as he saw fit. The officers of the rail- 
road companies were required to report to the commissioner 
annually, and to offer their books, papers, and employees 
for his examination. The companies were forbidden to 
charge one person or corporation more than another for 
equal service, and were forbidden to charge unreasonable 
rates. Unless it was out of " their power to do so " they 
were to furnish cars to all who applied, to receive and trans- 
port freight '' with reasonable dispatch," and to provide 
suitable facilities at any depot on their lines. 

Apparently this law was strict enough. As anyone may 
see, however, the word '' reasonable " and the limitation of 
'' their power to do so " made all the difference in the world. 
Besides, infractions of the laws were not made offenses 
against the state, but merely causes for civil actions. The 
cost of such action had to be borne by the individual, if 
he was defeated. 

In order to protect the farmer from the wasting of his 
grain en route, the railroads were required by another law 
to receipt for each carload of grain. At its destination the 
grain was to show not more than forty-five pounds de- 
crease in weight. This law was of great value to the ship- 
pers, but was counterbalanced by enactments favoring the 
railroads. For instance, a law authorized cities, counties, 



THE RAILROADS 207 

and towns to issue bonds to aid railroad construction. An- 
other law gave two companies state swamp lands, and still 
others benefited the railroads in various ways. 

Opinions of the law. — The city papers indorsed the 
work of the legislature. The country papers generally 
believed that it '' had sold out to the companies." Gov- 
ernor Austin called the new law a " criminal piece of 
stupidity." Those who believed that, '' if let alone," 
railroad companies would be '' true fathers to the people 
and great empire builders," rejoiced over the outcome. 
Those who regarded the companies as servants of the 
state sorrowed. To a later generation, it seems unfor- 
tunate that between the extreme positions there should 
not have been a broad way along which all interests could 
have labored for the development of the state. Thus the 
constant interference with law and righteousness that the 
controversy caused might have been prevented. 

The grange. — The upheaval against the railroads and 
the reaction in their favor were parallel to the rise and de- 
cline of the grange. This organization originated with 
Oliver Kelley, a native of Boston who settled near Itasca 
in Sherburne County in 1849. ^^ 1S64 he was a clerk in 
the Department of Agriculture in Washington. In 1866 
he was a special investigator, for the department, of the 
resources of the south. He became convinced that the 
farmers of the United States, without regard to party or 
section, ought to organize a national society. Such a so- 
ciety, he felt, would prevent the prejudices between north 
and south which he foresaw the war would leave, and would 
give agriculture a dignified standing in the country. 

In 1867, after a year on his Minnesota farm, he returned 
to Washington. There he organized a small group of men 



2o8 THE RAILROADS 

into the National Grange of Patrons of Husbandry. This 
was modified later into a system by which local granges 
and state granges were organized. A circular was published 
in February, 1868, setting forth the social and educational 
advantages of the order. Kelley resigned his clerkship in 
order to give his time to the movement. 

Growth of the order. — The order grew slowly at first. 
In fact, on a tour westward to St. Paul, Kelley succeeded 
in organizing but one grange. He found in Minnesota the 
Farmers^ Union, a monthly journal, busily fostering the 
formation of farmers' clubs to cheapen the cost of insur- 
ance and provisions, through cooperation. This journal 
at once recommended the plan of the grange to its 10,000 
readers. Kelley was not slow to seize this advantage, and 
in August he reported that granges were springing up in 
all parts of the state. This, however, was an over- 
enthusiastic statement. Until 1870 there were only 2>2> 
subordinate granges in the state, and only 36 in all. But 
after that year the order swept the country in one of those 
waves of feeling which are so characteristically American. 

By 1873 there were 22 state, and nearly 9000 subordinate 
granges, of which 358 were in Minnesota. " Cooperation," 
and " Down with Monopoly," were their stirring cries. 
They made the farmers, as one member said, ^' From the 
Potomac to the Rio Grande, from the Golden State to the 
Hudson, and even into the pineries of Maine and across 
the borders, throughout the length and breadth of the 
Dominion of Canada, fairly leap, as with one preconcerted 
bound, to the upholding of the grange standard." 

Grangers and the railroads. — It was this order which 
kept alive the agitation against railroad oppression and 
discrimination, and urged the laws of 1871 and 1873 to 



THE RAILROADS 



209 



which reference has been made. It brought to pass 
similar legislation in Wisconsin, Iowa, and other states 
where it had a powerful influence. Although after the 
hard times the order declined and has indeed never recov- 
ered its strength, it furnished a fine example of the power of 
the people to assert themselves. It should always be of 
interest to people in Minnesota, because of the leading 
part a Minnesotan took in its work, and the important 
place in the Union 
that he thereby gave 
his state. 

State advance- 
ment. — During the 
period of depression 
it must not be pre- 
sumed that Minne- 
sota made no ad- 
vance. The soil was 
too fertile, the forests 

too plentiful, the people too stalwart for even a combina- 
tion of pioneer hardships, grasshoppers, panic, and rail- 
road tyranny to hold them back. The expected yield of 
30,000,000 bushels of wheat was not realized, but in 1873 
there was some increase over the preceding crop, and in 
1875 more than 30,000,000 bushels were harvested. Busi- 
ness strained hard to keep going, and it was too well 
backed by the natural resources of the state for even the 
eastern speculator seriously to embarrass it during more 
than a short period. Although the people of the state 
were concerned over such grievous questions as we have 
discussed, the population increased about one third between 
the years 1870 and 1875. 




Horse car of the Minneapolis street 

RAILWAY. 



STORY OF MINN. 



14 



2IO THE RAILROADS 

Progressive legislation. — Nor were the legislatures dur- 
ing the years from 1865 to 1873 altogether given over to 
railroad legislation. Through a useful body of law, pro- 
vided to further the above-mentioned and kindred interests, 
they did their share towards promoting the welfare of the 
state. In 1864 the legislature provided for further settle- 
ment of the state, by making the secretary of state, com- 
missioner of immigration ; by organizing a committee in 
each county to assist him ; and by appropriating at various 
times $20,000 for advertisements. 

Several times the legislature went to the aid of the set- 
tlers. In 1868 it gave the destitute people of the southwest 
counties $8000 ; in 1869 the sum of $5000 was appropriated 
for the flood victims of the Red River Valley. Again, as 
we have seen, it appropriated $30,000 to aid the victims of 
the grasshopper plague, in 1875. To assist in the rapid 
transportation of wheat, 300,000 acres were set aside for the 
improvement of the Cannon River in 1865, and Red Wing 
was allowed to borrow $3000 to improve the Minnesota. 
This plan, however, was proved impracticable by the rapid 
advancement of the railroads into the territory to be aided. 

Moreover the educational interests of the state were 
beginning to receive attention befitting their importance. 
The reports of the state superintendent of public instruc- 
tion, Mark H. Bunnell, constantly increased in cheer. 
The State University and the normal schools were begin- 
ning to provide energetic leaders for the various activities 
of the state. The legislatures gave much attention to 
the '' httle red schoolhouse," providing that school lands 
should not be sold for less than five dollars an acre, and 
making each township a school district. A state super- 
intendent was appointed in 1866. 



THE RAILROADS 211 

Some notable leaders. — During this period two men of 
power served Minnesota in the governor's chair, William R. 
Marshall, 1866-1870, and Horace Austin, 1870-1874. Both 
were strictly honest and broad-minded men, caring rather 
to be loved by their neighbors than to accumulate wealth. 
They gave their energies without stint to the development of 
the young state. Marshall served as railroad commissioner 
after the close of his second term as governor. Of Austin 
enough has been said to show his zeal for good government. 

In the United States Senate the state was represented by 
Alexander Ramsey, the " war governor," who later became 
United States Secretary of War. Another Senator was 
Daniel A. Norton, who achieved fame by voting with the 
Democrats against the impeachment of President Andrew 
Johnson. He was asked by the Republican legislature to 
resign, but refused either to resign or to answer the letter 
advising him of the vote. He has had to wait, hke John- 
son himself, for the fair judgment that reasonable people 
can give. A third Senator was WiUiam Windom, who, 
like Ramsey, was afterwards chosen for a President's 
cabinet. He was beloved by all who knew him. 

Ignatius Donnelly, heu tenant governor from i860 to 1863, 
attracted attention for the wit and eloquence which later 
made him a central figure in the Minnesota House of Repre- 
sentatives. Had it not been for an unfortunate contest with 
Representative E. B. Washburne of Illinois, during which 
he made a bitter speech in the national House of Repre- 
sentatives, he might have become a great political leader. 
As a novelist and scholar he won more than national fame. 

These were the best known of the men who gave the 
state either marked ability or true service in the years 
from i860 to 1878. 



212 THE RAILROADS 

SUMMARY 

The grange led the people of Minnesota in their fight against the 
railroads. 

The railroads enjoyed great prosperity. 

They charged extortionate rates. 

Laws were passed to limit these rates. 

A reaction in favor of the railroads took place. 
A Minnesota man organized the grange. 

It spread over the northwest. 

It became a powerful political force. 
The state progressed, through : 

The extension of railroads. 

The organization of farmers. 

Good crops. 

Improved educational advantages. 

Strong leadership. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Tell why Governor Austin was a valuable citizen of Minnesota. 

2. What was the grange? Why was it organized? Does it still 
exist ? 

3. Who were the leaders of this period? 

REFERENCES 

Report of Railway Commissioner for 18/2. 

Railway Legislation in Minnesota. 

Message to the Legislature in 1872. — Gov. Horace Austin. 

Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

A WIDER HORIZON 

Minnesota known. — Minnesota continued to grapple 
with pioneer hardship, financial distress, and the difficulties 
of transportation, through the seventies. Then began 
another era of expansion. Good crops, renewed confidence, 
increased immigration, and the discovery of iron ore in 
the great northern section brought the state into world- 
wide fame. The Duluth with which Proctor Knott had 
amused the United States Senate became a harbor that 
many a Senator would have been glad to own. The Twin 
Cities, fighting merrily with each other to make the best 
possible showing in the census returns, became resorts for 
tourists who had exhausted the resources of the world in 
scenes of activity as well as of natural beauty. St. Paul, 
the capital, was the headquarters of several railway sys- 
tems, and a jobbing center ; and Minneapolis was the 
greatest flour and lumber-producing city in the world. 
Both left a lasting impression on the mind of every one 
who visited them in the years which we are now to discuss. 

The wonderful Mississippi gorge between Winona and 
the Twin Cities, especially Lake Pepin where the French 
had so persistently settled in the old Indian trading days, 
appeared in many a geography and guidebook. The Red 
River Valley was a name suggestive of wealth. The great 
pine forests, occupying the major portion of the state, 
excited the awe of every one who gazed upon them. By 

213 



214 



A WIDER HORIZON 



1892 Minnesota people were beginning to realize what 
the great resources of climate, soil, timber, minerals, and 
water power were capable of doing for the multitudes to 
settle within the state. 

Further settlement. — Two tides of immigration have 
been mentioned, that of the fifties, and that following the 
Civil War. Before 1858 fifty-seven of the eighty-six 
counties into which Minnesota is now divided had been 
organized, chiefly those of the southeastern portion. In 
the years between 1858 and 1892, twenty- three more, for 
the most part along the upper Minnesota and Red rivers, 
were organized. The second tide of immigration swept 
over the southwestern counties, and on up into the rich 
Red River Valley, where, from the days of the Pembina 
settlers, ' hardy pioneers had been gradually making the 
world beUeve that the stories of Lord Selkirk's agents were 
not false after all. To this valley, as well as to the district 
farther south, we have seen that the state had had to send 
relief. Before the census of 1890, however, a '' boom," 
enthusiastic but sane, made this valley the coveted goal 
for a great crowd of settlers. 

Bonanza farming. — Hundreds of acres, easily obtained 
and easily farmed, were held by single individuals, most of 
whom had httle or no money. It was possible for a man to 
preempt a quarter section, make a homestead thereupon, 
and take another quarter for a tree claim. Thus he could 
obtain nearly five hundred acres, if he would only keep the 
simple faith which the government demanded, — live on 
his land and make a few improvements. So level is the 
land that a story was current of a man who started to 
plow in the morning, ate his dinner at the end of the furrow, 
and then, plowing another furrow, returned to his house 



A widi:r horizon 



215 



in time for the evening chores. Tragic tales of a man 
getting lost on his own farm, and spending the night wander- 
ing about in a circle, frightened by the howl and the glinting 
eyes of the prairie wolves were heard or read. Often, in 
one season, a man reaped enough wheat or flax to pay for 
an adjoining quarter or half section. 

At the same time many a farmer grew discouraged, and 
returned to the east to tell wild tales of adventure with wind 
and poverty, and to enjoy the small but snug returns of his 
labor in " a civilized country." But for every such one, a 




Harvesting wheat in the Red River Valley. 



2l6 



A WIDER HORIZON 



hundred went to get their famihes and urge their relatives 
to go back with them, before it was too late to ^' take up 
land " and get rich in the " granary of the world." 

The famous blizzard. — In 1880 came the famous October 
blizzard, still referred to, almost tenderly, as the worst storm 
in the memory of the settlers who experienced its rigors. 




In fact, the gentle- 
ness of the climate 
of Minnesota 
could be empha- 
'--r- sized in no better 
way than by de- 
scribing the won- 
der with which they viewed the blizzard, — as did the people 
of London the freezing over of the Thames River in the 
seventeenth century. Never since has that river frozen 
hard enough to permit the erection of buildings on the ice ; 
never since the October blizzard has traffic in Minnesota 
been so seriously interfered with. But for weeks of that 
winter the western towns could get no coal or provisions 
from over the railroads. In some places the snowdrifts 
covered the telegraph wires. 



A WIDER HORIZON 217 

One newspaper of the period congratulated its subscribers 
on the fact that their town had a good mill, for other- 
wise they would have starved. It was forced to issue 
several numbers on wrapping paper borrowed from the 
stores. To his fellow editors the owner of this paper an- 
nounced a policy that is not always disregarded in good 
times. He bade them not to issue such bare sheets, even 
if there was no news to be had, saying : " Make up some- 
thing, gentlemen; no sin in it, these days." 

Census returns. — The census returns tell the story of 
the wonderful growth. The expansion of the railroads and 
the Twin Cities " do the same tale repeat." In 1880 the 
population of Minnesota was about 800,000 ;' in 1890 it had 
reached 1,300,000. The farm products for 1890 included: 

Wheat (bushels) 52,000,000 

Oats " 50,000,000 

Corn '* 25,000,000 

Barley " 9,000,000 

Flax " 4,000,000 

Hay (tons) 3,000,000 

Swine 9,000,000 

Cattle 1,400,000 

To show how well-founded were the claims of the Minne- 
sota advertisers of this period, it is sufficient to compare 
these figures with the following for 1868 : 

Wheat (bushels) 15,000,000 

Oats " 9,000,000 

Corn " 4,000,000 

Barley " 32,000 

Flax " 71,000 

Potatoes " 2,000,000 

Hay (tons) 108,000 



2l8 A WIDER HORIZON 

The value of the land increased correspondingly. The 
average price of wild prairie land rose from $io to more 
than $13 an acre, and railway land that was worth $2.50 in 
1880 was selling easily at $5 in 1890. 

The crop belts. — One of the most interesting phases of 
the development is the division of labor between the two 
agricultural portions of the state, the southeastern and the 
western -northwestern. By the beginning of the period, the 
farmers of the earliest settled portion of the state had be- 
come convinced that their land was worn out, so far as its 
ability to produce wheat was concerned. Indeed, from an 
average of eighteen bushels to the acre the state yield 
had fallen to thirteen, and many dismal failures had oc- 
curred. So it was forced upon the farmers that they must 
put cattle upon their land. Hence, while the new land of 
the western part was advertising Minnesota as a wheat 
state, these men were building cooperative creameries. The 
yield of butter increased from 12,000,000 pounds in 1875, 
to 16,000,000 pounds in 1880; and ten years later the 
government reports recorded 27,000,000 pounds. So 
Minnesota earned her title of the " Bread and Butter 
State." 

We learn from the state records that in 1890 great 
corn and barley and dairy counties were Fillmore, Goodhue, 
Houston, Martin, Olmsted, Mower, Wright, and Winona; 
and that Brown, Douglas, Kandiyohi, McLeod, Marshall, 
Meeker, Nicollet, Norman, Ottertail, Renville, Sibley, and 
Stearns, — counties on the upper Minnesota and Red rivers, 
— were each credited with more than a million bushels of 
wheat. Great potato counties were Anoka, Chisago, Hen- 
nepin, Isanti, and Washington. Thus the state was being 
marked out in districts, each taking advantage of its soil, 



A WIDER HORIZON 219 

climate, market, and other conditions that govern agricul- 
tural production, to make the best showing. 

Prizes. — The World's Fair at Chicago, in 1893, pro- 
vided an opportunity for Minnesota to exhibit the fruit of 
her industry. She took full advantage of it. When the 
premiums were awarded, her 300 displays of cereals had 
yielded her 200 prizes, her flour 60, her cattle 48, her 
horses 50, and her poultry 21. 

Another railroad boom. — The railroads, recovered from 
their financial troubles, began a second era of expansion. 
Before the end of the period that we are discussing, the 
locomotive had reached nearly every farmer in the state. 
In all, about 2000 miles of line were constructed. The 
Northern Pacific railway in 1887 reached the Pacific coast, 
and its president, Henry Villard, was honored in Minne- 
sota by an immense parade of floats, military organizations, 
and citizens. With its offices and shops at St. Paul, and 
several division points on its main line and on various 
branches, it was regarded as a Minnesota institution, even 
though its capital was largely eastern. The old St. Paul 
and Pacific had become the St. Paul, Minneapolis, and 
Manitoba, and as such was serving the Red River Valley 
as well as the upper Minnesota country. Then it was re- 
organized, and under the presidency of James J. Hill 
realized the ambitions of its first promoters by becoming a 
true Pacific line, for it reached the western coast in 1890. 

The Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul was operating 
three divisions, like the spokes of a wheel, out of Minne- 
apolis : the river division to Chicago, the Iowa and Min- 
nesota to Austin and southward, and the Hastings and 
Dakota to Big Stone Lake. Its southern Minnesota 
division had extended far out on to the Dakota prairies. 



220 



A WIDER HORIZON 



The St. Paul and Sioux City, renamed the Chicago, St. 
Paul, Minneapolis, and Omaha, had joined forces with the 
Chicago and North Western. This controlled the old 
Winona and St. Peter, and hence operated from the Twin 
Cities, one line through Mankato to the southern border, 
and another from Chicago through Winona and Mankato 
to the western border. 

With these four larger system.s, four other companies 
were beginning to compete, in the late eighties. The 




Second suspension bridge at Minneapolis. 

Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Sault Ste. Marie was organized 
by Twin City men, with the aid of the Canadian Pacific, 
to offset the rate-making of the '' Chicago companies." 
It built through Minneapolis, eastward and westward to 
junctions with the Canadian Pacific in Michigan and North 
Dakota. The Minneapolis and St. Louis was operating the 
'^ Albert Lea Route," and a line to Watertown, South 
Dakota. The St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Kansas City, 
which later became the Chicago Great Western, was running 
trains through the older settled portion of the state. The 
St. Paul and Duluth was doing a flourishing business, 
especially in hauling coal from the great docks at Duluth 



A WIDER HORIZON 221 

to the Twin Cities. These eight companies were pros- 
perous, not only because they shared in the labors of the 
farmers of the state, but also because, owing to the sym- 
pathy aroused by their reverses in 1873, they were in little 
danger of being curbed further by state regulations. 

New towns. — Towns sprang up as if by magic along 
these lines, each presenting to the eye of the traveler a row 
of elevators and warehouses, a flour mill parallel to the 
track, and two rows of busy stores facing each other on 
Main Street, which usually crossed the track at right angles. 
On almost any day the tourist might see dozens of teams 
of farmers, whose preemptions, homesteads, or tree claims, 
given by the government, or lands sold by the real estate 
agent from $2 to $5 an acre, were now worth from $25 
to $50 an acre. These teams were an indication of the 
business transacted in a village that appeared merely to 
have paused in a certain spot long enough to meet its im- 
mediate engagements, before going on to a new location. 

Moving villages. — And, indeed, many a village had 
moved in from an early settlement. In order to take 
advantage of the railroad it had wheeled its houses, stores, 
and churches to the railroad, almost as unconcernedly as a 
pushcart man in a city goes from corner to corner. Some- 
times fierce county-seat wars occurred, when an old estab- 
lished trading post like Lac qui Parle, unfortunate enough 
to be left off the line, persisted, against hope, in holding 
the county records. 

Madison's army. — In 1886, an election had decided 
that Madison was to be the seat of Lac qui Parle County, 
instead of the old village. Not only sentiment, but the 
desire to benefit by the business that a county seat enjoys, 
made the villagers vow never to give up their historic 



2 22 A WIDER HORIZON 

privilege without a struggle. It was rumored over the 
county that a fierce battle might be expected, since the 
citizens of Lac qui Parle were armed. 

Madison laid its plans well. Word was sent to its sup- 
porters in the contest, and on an appointed day hundreds 
of men and teams were ready to march. The defenders 
were so overcome by the superior force that they dared 
not resist. So, much against their will, they saw the 
records loaded on wagons and started for the new county 
seat. These were followed in a short time by the court- 
house itself, raised on wagons, and moving slowly along 
amid shouts of triumph. A second procession set out 
from Madison to meet the ^' army " and escort it into 
the village, where a great celebration of the event took 
place. 

More often the matter was decided by the calm method 
of the ballot, and little bitterness was aroused. But the 
state is dotted with forsaken settlements, marked even vet 
by some token of their greatness, — a town hall now used 
as a barn, a " college " building, a public square, an old 
church or schoolhouse or imposing mansion in the style 
of the fifties, — signs of the " paper towns " that were to be 
projected into cities by the gallant promoters of the period 
preceding the crash of 1857. 

Divided towns. — Sometimes two or more rival real es- 
tate firms would organize towns within a mile of each other, 
and these would fight like the gingham dog and the calico 
cat, until, by the grace of the railroad, one would swallow 
the other. Or tne railroad would insist upon one town site, 
the inhabitants upon another. Whereupon an ''upper" 
and '^ lower " town would develop, with the station and 
elevators a mile away from the post oftice and stores, a 



A WIDER HORIZON 



223 



mile felt keenly by any one who arrived on a dark cold 
night and missed the omnibus that was to carry him to the 
" Central House " or the '' City Hotel. " This uncer- 
tainty continued through the eighties, but by 1892 the 
people of the state had generally decided what was to 
be or not to be, in the matter of village building. 



X tahVflW'^ w. ^vf^^lUff^ 44£ 




Logs on the way to the sawmill. 

Lumber conditions. — During this period Minnesota, 
as well as setthng down to this rural peace, approached the 
climax of her career as a lumber producer. Since 1840 
she had been making a steady advance into the great 
timber country north of the Rum River, and that stream 
had been bearing the giant logs to the Minneapohs boom. 
Similarly, the St. Croix had been supplying the mills 
at Stillwater with the apparently inexhaustible pine. By 



224 



A WIDER HORIZON 



1892 Stillwater and Minneapolis had rivals in Milaca, 
Anoka, and St. Cloud, and even more pronounced, in 
Little Falls and Brainerd, more than a hundred miles farther 
up the Mississippi. Indeed, the very heart of the forest 
country was being pierced. The mills on the upper 
Mississippi cut, in 1892, over 100,000,000 feet of lumber, as 
against 500,000,000 feet for the eighteen Minneapolis 




Hauling logs in norihern Minnesota. 



mills, and 172,000,000 feet for those of the Stillwater 
district. 

Waste of resources. — This was also the period of great 
timber waste. It must be plain to all that certain land is 
too poor in soil to produce anything but pine and other 
evergreens. Often one can scarcely step between the great 
bowlders with which it is strewn. Certainly this land should 
never have been stripped of all its trees. The small ones 
should have been left, as they are left in Germany and other 



A WIDER HORIZON 225 

European countries, to develop into log timber. But on 
the plea that taxes were too high, lumbermen, even million- 
aires made a clean sweep, leaving behind them stumps and 
piles of slashings, or top branches. These would catch 
fire and cause destruction to millions of feet of good timber. 
Hence northern Minnesota was spotted with districts as 
desolate as any place on earth, due in large measure to 
lumbermen's greed, although the careless settler and 
camper, as well as the locomotive, must bear their full 
share of blame. 

Settling cut-over land. — Into the midst of this desolation 
went the pioneers. They gathered together the half- 
burned trees, grubbed out the obstinate pine stumps, and 
on little clearings that gradually expanded into goodly 
farms began to raise crops of hay and potatoes. It was a 
slow, toilsome process, and the settler, like his father on 
the prairie, underwent severe hardship before he reaped 
a harvest. To be sure, he always had wood to burn, and 
the timber kept out the fierce winds ; but on the other 
hand, the market was distant and the road so poor that 
the food supply was too often exhausted. To walk twenty 
or thirty miles, sometimes through a bog for a great por- 
tion of the way, carrying a heavy pack of provisions on 
his back, was the lot of many a backwoods farmer in those 
days, as it is still in the farthest north. Only the old 
voyageur could have sympathized with him. Then, if a 
man could be lost on a prairie what about the pathless 
woods? The pile of bones found by some later traveler 
would tell the tale of terrible adventure, and of death 
from wolves or hunger. 

Yet despite all of these perils and tortures, the forest 
boundary was beaten back for nearly a hundred miles. By 

STORY OF MINN. — 1 5 



226 A WIDER HORIZON 

1892 the district south of a Hne drawn through Brainerd, 
that, save for a few river settlements, was an unknown 
country twenty years before, had been added to the agri- 
cultural portion of the state. 

An iron state. — The chief interest in this period, how- 
ever, is in the development of mining on the Vermilion 
and Mesabi ranges. That Minnesota would provide liber- 
ally for the prospector had been believed for many years. 
But strange to say there was little faith in the stories of 
iron-finding until 1865, despite the fact that the Marquette 
country had been producing iron since 1850. It was 1882 be- 
fore a company was organized to develop a find near Tower. 
Prof. Newton H. Winchell, state geologist, in 1878 gave the 
definite information upon which the company depended. 

Before this time, companies had been organized in 
various localities, to dig or wash the gold they imagined, 
or induced a few investors to believe was to be had for 
the same faith and courage that had won wealth for the 
" forty-niners " in California. The Watab Gold and Silver 
Mining Company organized in 1867, the Home Gold and 
Silver Mining Company of Wabasha in 1868, the Bristol 
Silver Mining Company in 1879, the Florence Mining 
and Silver Company in 1878; these, with the Zumbro 
Lead Mining Company in 1868, and the Taylor's Falls 
Copper Mining Company in 1874, are found fisted in the 
secretary of state's record of corporations. Until 1882, 
however, the people of Minnesota had no conception of 
the real wealth of the rugged height of land whence the 
waters flow northward to Hudson Bay, eastward to the 
Atlantic, and southward to the Gulf of Mexico. 

Developing the iron industry. — It was not long, however, 
before the Vermilion Range was known to all steel manu- 



A WIDER HORIZON 227 

facturers, and in 1890 the United States census gave Minne- 
sota fifth place among iron-ore producing states. In 1892, 
the famous Mesabi Range began to supply the Pennsylvania 
furnaces with the ore that has made Minnesota famous 
around the world, — but that is another story. It is 
sufficient to point out here that the Vermihon develop- 
ment projects brought an immense district to the knowl- 
edge of the rest of the state, and bound it by railroads to 
the agricultural portions. Two Harbors and Duluth began 
to do a flourishing business in docking and loading ore. 
The latter grew, in ten years, from a shipping village into 
one of the greatest ports in the world. 

Here, then, were three great industries working together 
to give Minnesota a name in the world — agriculture, 
lumbering, and mining. We shall see in our next chapter 
how they have continued to labor side by side, a mighty 
trinity, to pour forth the wealth of the state, to the advan- 
tage of the world as well as herself. 

The farmer at church. — One of the prettiest pictures 
of pioneer life is that of the farmer in his church. Often 
he had to travel more than ten miles to attend service; 
but he and his family, including the baby, cheerfully made 
the trip nearly every Sunday. After a hard week's work 
it was difficult to prepare for this journey, for there were 
chores to be attended to on Sunday as well as on other days. 
The persistence with which farmers continued these weekly 
journeys is characteristic of the zeal that was making 
Minnesota. They could give only their interest, and their 
labor to build churches, and a very little money, with some 
products, to support the pastor ; but these they gave as 
they were able. 

The home missionary. — The pioneer home mxission- 



2 28 A WIDER HORIZON 

ary, also, who could accept the meager salary and perform 
the strenuous labor that was demanded of him, 'is a figure 
that must forever loom large in pictures of the state devel- 
opment. To travel thousands of miles, sometimes by 
ox team, sometimes by hand car, sometimes on foot, in 
the course of his ministrations, and to travel in all kinds 
of weather, and over all kinds of roads, was in itself a 
task worthy of mention. To share with the pioneer 
farmer his dugout, heated by hay in the evening, very 
far from warm in the early morning ; or to compose 
his sermon in the midst of the confusion of a border 
hotel, and then to encourage the churches which were 
rapidly being organized, — this took men of broad sym- 
pathies and foresight. Sometimes it was necessary, for 
lack of church buildings, to preach in claim shanties, 
railroad stations, or stores ; but this did not prevent the 
various denominations from making consistent growth in 
the pioneer period. 

Social side of the church. — Now there are devices to 
make life on the farm enjoyable : the free mail delivery, the 
telephone, the phonograph, near neighbors, and progressive 
villages that afford most of the pleasures, if these are 
not so elegant as those of the city. Then the church 
had a social use that was excuse enough for its being, be- 
sides its purpose of strengthening the morality of the com- 
munity. It brought together, to worship and for social 
meetings, people who otherwise would not have been able 
to see one another except on rare occasions. So it fostered 
an intercourse and a mutual understanding among neighbors 
that were felt in many ways. Besides exerting this social 
influence, the church contributed also to the intellectual 
Hfe of the community, through the rehgious discussions 



A WIDER HORIZON 229 

that it aroused, through the study of Biblical literature 
that it demanded, and through the free use of its buildings 
for lectures of various kinds. 

Scandinavian churches. — In the establishment of 
Augsburg Seminary in 1878, we see evidence of the in- 
creasing importance of the Scandinavian church work. 
The zeal with which the immigrants hastened to establish 
their religion in their new home is not surpassed in history. 
When the pastor of a large parish — and a parish might be 
over a hundred miles square — could not visit his people on 
Sunday, they would gather on a Tuesday or Friday, as the 
case might be. When he could not visit them weekly 
they would save for him their weddings, their christenings, 
and even their troubles ; and he would make a grand reckon- 
ing of all when he could get to the village. So the faith 
and earnest religion that has entered so largely into the 
making of the state was kept alive. 

SUMMARY 

Minnesota enjoyed great expansion of its industries. 
Farming was carried on with zeal. 

The soil was studied, and only what was profitable was produced. 
The railroads were extended far into the grain country. 
Towns and villages vied with one another to procure trade. 
The state led in the production of lumber, and it became known for 
its iron. 



QUESTIONS 

What is ''bonanza farming"? 

Of what advantage is it for a village to be the county seat ? 

How is timber wasted? 

What are the especial dangers of life in the woods ? 

Locate the Vermilion and Mesabi ranges on the map. 

What are the qualities demanded of a pioneer missionary? 



230 A WIDER HORIZON 

REFERENCES 

United States Census Returns. 

Iron Mining in Minnesota. — C. E. Von Barnevelt. 
Reports of Secretaries of State, 1867 to i8/j. 

Discovery and Development of the Iron Industry in Minnesota. — W. 
N. Winchell. 



CHAPTER XIX 

A WIDER HORIZON — Continued 

Manufacturing. — Much is suggested with regard to 
manufacturing by the foregoing account of several years of 
industrial progress. It could not fairly be expected that 
much more could be done than to make the raw materials 
of the state into first products, — boards and house parts, 
flour and cereals. The time was not yet ripe for iron work- 
ing. Of the lumber output enough has been said, except 
that sash and door factories and cooperage shops were 
making Minneapolis the greatest lumber center of the 
world. It is significant that when the Republican National 
Convention met in this city in 1892, the official badge was 
a strip of ribbon, to one end of which was fastened a 
miniature fiour barrel, to the other end a log. 

Roller mills. — The manufacture of flour received a 
mighty impulse in the later seventies, by the introduction 
of the " middlings purifier " and the '' rolls." In the earlier 
days much of the good of the wheat had gone to make an 
inferior flour called Red Dog, or had been lost in the 
'' middlings " or " shorts." In i860 a Frenchman, N. La 
Croix, came from Canada to make his home in Faribault. 
He invented a bolting process that saved this value to the 
flour. He was known as " the shaking miller." In 1870 
he moved to Minneapolis and gave the benefit of his idea 
to George H. Christian, who installed the shakers in the 
I 231 



232 



A WIDER HORIZON 



mills which he controlled. The result was a boom in 
flour making and in wheat growing ; in the latter, because 
the new process made it possible to produce as good flour 
from spring wheat as from winter wheat. 

Then came the roller process as a substitute for grinding 
stones, and the trade was still more stimulated, until in 
1876 the prices of the so-called patent flour were given in 
the Chicago reports, and in 1879 the exportation of Minne- 
sota flour was begun. It is peculiar that when the Buffalo 
market began to quote prices it referred to Duluth, not 
Minnesota flour, showing how important the growing lake 
port was becoming in the eyes of the people who once had 
smiled at mention of its name. From 1880 on, the produc- 




Flour-milling district of Minneapolis. 



A WIDER HORIZON 



233 




The city of Duluth. 



tion of flour rapidly increased, mills springing up in villages 
all over the state; and Minneapolis soon doubled her 
output. 

Growth of cities. — In the later eighties, because of their 
prosperity, a great boom struck the three chief Minnesota 
cities. This time the country districts were saved from 
the evil eft'ects of such a catastrophe, for the farmers had 
learned the terrible lessons of 1857 and 1873, and besides, 
they were better able to withstand the pinch of hard times. 
The real estate exploiter pHed his trade in Minneapolis, St. 
Paul, and Duluth. The Twin Cities vied with each other 
in extending their limits as far as possible into the country, 
and made improvements miles distant from their centers. 
Around them farm land, really worth less than $50 an 
acre, was held at from $500 to $1000 an acre. 

People bought lots at auction sales without having seen 
their property, and sometimes sold to others before they 



234 A WIDER HORIZON 

reached home. Manufacturing and residence suburbs 
were built far out on the prairie or in the brush, — Hopkins, 
St. Louis Park, New Brighton, North St. Paul, Gladstone, 
Newport. In fact, the Twin Cities were hoping to draw a 
population so absurdly large, when we consider that the 
whole state contained few more people than Chicago, 
that it still amazes us to this day. The traveler who 
comes suddenly upon the pathetic remains of mills and 
factories half hidden by trees and flowers, as though Nature 
were ashamed of the whole affair, wonders how sensible 
people could have been so swept off their feet. 
' Duluth is an even more striking example of the excite- 
ment. Her citizens, half proudly, half jestingly, say that 
Duluth is twenty miles long, a mile wide and half a mile 
high. It is in fact much longer, since it includes the old 
Astor fur post at Fond du Lac, and extends northeastward 
for several miles from its center. Great breaks of brush 
land intervene between the various settlements that com- 
pose the city, thus unreasonably extended to satisfy the 
boomer. 

The country safe. — The smaller cities, chiefly agri- 
cultural, did not suffer so much. It was well for Minne- 
sota that her farmers had learned the lesson of the sower, 
and were able to insure the people of the state their bread 
and butter. Those were the dark days when the railroad 
tracks entering any large city were thronged with unem- 
ployed ; when gold had sought hiding places in cellars and 
holes in the ground ; when every check was suspected, 
when mxillionaires were bankrupt, and " bread line," and 
'^ soup kitchen " were familiar terms. 

Disasters. — The grasshoppers were not the only plague 
that threatened the state. Fire and storm troubled its 



A WIDER HORIZON 235 

prosperity. On May 2, 1878, the Washburn " A " ]\Iill and 
five others were destroyed by fire and an explosion that 
tore the Washburn mill to pieces, leaving, as an inscrip- 
tion states, " not one stone upon another," and killing 
eighteen workmen. An even worse disaster befell the 
St. Peter hospital for the insane, when on November 15, 
1880, an entire wing of the building was burned and 
twenty-seven inmates lost their lives. The next year 
occurred the fire which destroyed the state capitol. For- 
tunately, however, although the senate was in session at 
the time, no one was injured. 

Various tornadoes wrought more harm than these fires. 
In 1886 St. Cloud, Sauk Rapids, and the adjacent country 
were swept by a terrible storm. Seventy lives were lost, 
and a great amount of property was destroyed. Three 
years later Rochester suffered from a like cause. About 
twenty people were killed here. Long afterwards a citizen 
showed, as a relic of the storm, a board driven through an 
oak tree. In 1890 one hundred people were drowned by 
the capsizing of a steamer on Lake Pepin. In 1891 still 
another tornado tore along the Southern Minnesota rail- 
road, destroying crops and buildings, and leaving fifty 
dead behind it. Buildings were taken as though by some 
gigantic thief, and not a piece as large as a screen door was 
left in any one place. Trees were picked clean of leaves, 
and chickens were plucked as though by hand. For years 
afterwards many a person was in terror of the cloud by 
day or the fire by night. 

The Northfield raid. — A more picturesque incident in 
the life of the state was the Northfield raid, in September, 
1876. It is known that during the Civil War bands of 
irregular troops called guerrillas were turned upon both 



236 



A WIDER HORIZON 



North and South. These, while supposed to be fighting on 
one side or the other, made use of the general confusion 
to satisfy private wrongs. In Cottrell's guerrilla band 
were three brothers, Cole, Robert, and James Younger. 
When the war closed they, with the notorious James 
brothers, Jesse and Frank, refused to accept its result, 




Jesse James, and the raid on the Northfield Savings Bank. 

but continued to get their living in the way that they 
had learned. On this September day, with a band of more 
than twenty horsemen, they appeared before the North- 
field bank, which still faces the open square of the village, 
and before they left fought a battle with a large number 
of citizens summoned by the shooting of Cashier Heywood. 
At length they were driven out, leaving one man dead, 



A WIDER HORIZON 237 

and retreated southward. In honor of Heywood's fidelity 
to his trust, a tablet has been placed on the old stone 
building, now a hardware store. 

Old settlers like to tell of seeing the robbers at the 
'^ Clifton House " in Mankato, and of being surprised to 
find, a day or so later, that a posse was seeking them. Near 
Madelia the posse surrounded the raiders and captured 
the three Youngers, who were sent to the state peniten- 
tiary for life. The James boys and others of the company 
made good their escape. The boldness of the raid, and 
the romance that had hung about the leaders since the 
war, made the event much more important than such affairs 
usually are. 

Improvements in education. — Fire and storm and armed 
horsemen were, however, hardly more than ripples in the 
tide that was carrying the various institutions of Minnesota 
on to larger life. Good crops and consistent development 
of other resources helped in improving the educational 
system of the state. Under the first president, William 
W. Folwell, 1 869-1 884, and then under Cyrus Northrup, 
1884-1911, the University of Minnesota took advantage 
of the riches of the state to grow and become a guide to 
state industry. It crowned the educational system by 
taking the boys and girls as they were graduated from 
high schools and preparing them for the various tasks 
of life. Under the Rev. Henry Burt, 1 876-1 880, and 
David Kiehle, 1 881-1893, the common schools likewise in- 
creased in efficiency, and high schools began to multiply. 
Summer training schools for teachers were introduced, and 
the instruction of pupils in rural and village schools was 
thereby stimulated. Laws were passed that greatly 
favored the cause of education. 



238 A WIDER HORIZON 

Increasing the school fund. — The school fund had 
been slowly accumulating during these years, until by 1892 
the principal amounted to $10,000,000. By making the 
state instead of local authorities responsible for the fund, 
another safeguard had been given, since it was easier to 
provide for a more even distribution and a more economical 
management. We have learned that the legislature had 
limited the selling price of the school lands to not less than 
five dollars an acre. Thus they had been kept out of the 
hands of such speculators as those who, in the days before 
the panic of 1857, had cheated neighboring states of their 
heritage. Finally the law of 1875, making, not school 
population, but school enrollment the basis of apportion- 
ment, was of great help to the needier districts. 

For these three reasons the state was able to use a steadily 
increasing school capital for the interests of her boys and 
girls, even in the most remote districts. By 1892 the 
term " state aid " had become a thrilling incentive to com- 
munities to maintain good schools, for districts could not 
draw upon the state fund until they had shown their ability 
to do without its aid. When they had done this, the state 
could direct them to still greater achievements. 

In 1875 women were first allowed to vote on school 
questions. In 1878 the high school board was organized. 
Because of these efforts, as Doctor Folwell says, " The 
school system of Minnesota in 1881 was in full operation, 
from the kindergarten to the doctorate of philosophy."' 

Other legislation. — The legislature, besides assisting 
the schools of the state, enacted many useful laws. These 
provided for a public examiner, in 1878, to oversee the 
bookkeeping in banks and other corporations in which the 
people of the state were interested ; the State Health Board, 



A WIDER HORIZON 



239 



in 1883 ; the State Board of Correction and Charities which 
opened the state school at Owatonna, the reformatory at 
St. Cloud, and the Soldiers' Home ; and the Railroad and 
Warehouse Commission. The Railroad and Warehouse 
Commission was designed to protect the farmer from un- 
just inspection of his wheat, and from unjust charges for 
the transportation of the 
same. 

The great legislative 
triumph, in the opinion 
of many writers, was the 
final adjustment of the 
old railroad bond claims. 
Governor Cushman K. 
Davis wanted to arbi- 
trate these claims. Gov- 
ernor John S. Pillsbury 
believed that the state 
was disgraced by refus- 
ing to pay the bonds. 
Sibley entered the legis- 
lature to fight for the 
payment. Finally, a bill 
was passed by which a settlement satisfactory to the 
holders was made. It was generally believed that the state 
had the worst of the agreement, but in the minds of the 
leading business men her name was cleared, and that was 
sufficient. 

Men of the state. — Of the governors who served during 
this period, Governor Pillsbury is the most prominent. 
He came to the chair with his work as regent of 
the University to recommend him. He left it, the only 




Governor Cushman K. Davis. 



240 



A WIDER HORIZON 



man who had been reelected twice, with the payment of 
the bonds as the proudest distinction of his administration. 
Lucius F. Hubbard owed his election chiefly to his having 
been a general in the war, after leading the Fifth Minne- 
sota Regiment to the front ; but he was a creditable 
executive, interested in the health and well-being of the 
state. Andrew R. McGill and William R. Merriam, the 

latter afterwards Direc- 
tor of the United States 
Census, were later gov- 
ernors. 

In the United States 
Senate, Cushman K. 
Davis arose to be a 
national leader. William 
D. Washburne, who had 
already represented the 
Minneapolis district in 
Congress for four terms, 
achieved much fame for 
introducing a bill to pro- 
hibit gambling in grain, 
or dealing in futures, as 
it is sometimes called. 
It was his activity in this reform that caused his defeat 
for a second term. William Windom, who succeeded him, 
served until 1885, when he was defeated by D. M. 
Sab in. The other Senator of the same period was S. J. R. 
MacMillan. 

The most picturesque Minnesotan of the period was 
Ignatius Donnelly, " the Sage of Niniger." He fought the 
Ramsey followers at every turn, and tried to win his way 




Ignatius Donnelly: 



A WIDER HORIZON 241 

to the United States Senate. But his unfortunate speech 
in the House of Representatives against EHhu Washburne 
ruined his chances. As a novehst, however, he won the 
fame which he was denied in Congress. Returning to his 
farm near Hastings, he startled and dehghted the world by a 
series of books, of which the three best remembered are At- 
lantis or The Lost Continent, Caesar's Column, and a pam- 
phlet by which he sought to prove that Bacon wrote the plays 
called Shakespeare's. Afterwards Donnelly reappeared in 
local politics and was a much respected speaker, perhaps 
the very best that the Minnesota legislature has produced. 
The galleries were always crowded if it was known that 
he was to speak. His debate with Robert G. Ingersoll 
on his Baconian theory was talked of throughout the 
country. 

For several reasons the year 1892 is a fitting one with 
which to close this period of our Story of Minnesota. In 
the first place, it marks the beginning of Minnesota's 
mastery of the iron-ore market. Secondly, it marks the 
height to which lumber manufacturing reached. Thirdly, 
and most important, it is the year that marks the crest 
of a wave of expansion. 



SUMMARY 

Important happenings, 1870-1892 : 

La Croix's "middlings purifier" stimulated the production of flour. 

The roller process of flour making became popular. 

The larger cities speculated in real estate. 

The state suffered from several disasters. 

Education was advanced through the increase of the school fund. 

The legislature passed important measures. 

Pillsbury, Davis, Windom, and Donnelly were prominent. 

STORY OF MINN. 1 6 



242 A WIDER HORIZON 

QUESTIONS 

1. Why was the production of flour greater after the seventies than 
before ? 

2. Why did not the rural districts suffer from the "boom" of the 
eighties ? 

3. What is a tornado? Why are there comparatively few torna- 
does in Minnesota ? 

4. What is meant by the term "state aid"? 

5. Mention one reason why each of the following is remembered : 
Pillsbury, Washburne, Davis, Donnelly. 

REFERENCES 

Flour Manufacturing in Minnesota. — George C. Rogers, Minnesota 

Historical Society Papers, Vol. 6. 
Lives of the Governors. — James Baker. 
The Younger Raid. — (Newspaper files.) 
Minnesota, the North Star State. — William W. Folwell. 
Minnesota Legislative Manual for igij. 
Executive Reports, i8go and igoo. 



CHAPTER XX 
A GREAT COMMONWEALTH 

Hard times. — The bubble of speculation broke in 1893, 
and once again the nation faced hard times. Gold dis- 
appeared, banks in all parts of the country failed, factories 
closed their doors, and merchants lost their trade. Armies 
of the unemployed, led by Coxey and other such reformers, 
marched along the railroads. Bent on laying its grievances 
before the government in person, one of these armies 
actually camped on the White House grounds and was 
driven off by the police. More than one man still re- 
members distressing experiences connected with the panic 
of this year; as, for instance, leaving his work at night 
with a check for a small amount, going to place after place 
to get it cashed, and finally having to walk home for lack of 
carfare. 

Minnesota cities passed through this depression. We 
have spoken of the speculation in land and the extension 
of the limits of St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Duluth beyond 
all reason, in the eighties. The sad days that followed, 
when empty houses and grass-grown sidewalks told their 
tale of hardships, when rows of vacant stores spoke of 
business failure, were repeated in this new panic, and are 
described in the reminiscences of those who were made 
poor, were indeed almost beggared. 

Spanish-American volunteers. — The Spanish-American 
War of 1898 aroused the young men of Minnesota as had 

243 



244 A GREAT COMMONWEALTH 

the Civil War. President McKinley's call for volunteers 
was enthusiastically answered, and four regiments of 
infantry — the Twelfth, Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and 
Fifteenth Minnesota Volunteers — rahied in turn at 
Camp Randall on the State Fair grounds. Like the boys 
of '6i, these young men, many of them the sons of Civil 
War veterans, were feasted and entertained at the expense 
of their loyal friends before they left, ready to suffer from 
disease, exposure, or bullet. 

The Thirteenth Regiment spent a year in the Philippines. 
Although it lost few men in the various skirmishes in which 
it was engaged, including the attack on Manila on August 
13, many died the victims of unheal thful "camp life. It 
returned to glorious receptions in the various towns from 
which it had been recruited, chiefly the Twin Cities, where 
President McKinley reviewed its triumphant march in 
September, 1899. The other regiments did not experience 
field service, but were camped in the south, the Twelfth 
and Fourteenth on the famous battle field of Chickamauga. 
The boys of these regiments suffered more from impa- 
tience at not being able to follow their comrades abroad 
than from anything else, although sickness was all too 
prevalent among them. The readiness of the sons to do 
and dare as their fathers had done and dared, was, however, 
proved. 

This war gave prominence to Senator Cushman K. 
Davis. He was recognized as an authority on interna- 
tional law, and upon the conclusion of the war was made 
one of the peace commissioners. Almost his last public 
service was to help draft the treaty which gave the United 
States the Philippines and Porto Rico. He died on 
November 27, 1900, the following year. 



A GREAT COMMONWEALTH 245 

An Indian fright. — Much more severe than the trial of 
Minnesota's sons was the fate of the United States troops 
at Fort SneUing, called out to quell the Chippewas on 
October 5, 1898. Through a misunderstanding the In- 
dians, members of the Pillager band at Leech Lake, re- 
sisted arrest and intrenched themselves on Sugar Point in 
that lake. In attempting to dislodge them Major Wilkin- 
son and five men were killed, and about twenty men were 
wounded. After explanations had been made the Indians 
submitted to the authorities, and the fright aroused by 
the expected uprising subsided. There has not been an 
Indian outbreak since, and on account of several adjust- 
ments in Indian affairs there will probably never be 
another. 

Prosperous farmers. — The hard times fell no more 
heavily on Minnesota than elsewhere in the country. In 
fact, the farmers of the state saved it the pangs that specu- 
lation would have inflicted. They remained calm in the 
midst of the general discouragement, and they sent their 
millions of bushels of grain, their herds of cattle and 
swine, and their butter to market, prospering, even 
though they were forced to receive lower prices. City 
people could not understand why their country cousins 
were so little concerned about " soup kitchens," '^ bread 
lines," " the army of the unemployed," and other expres- 
sions with which the newspapers rang. Indeed, many a 
farmer testified that he did not know from experience what 
hard times were. 

This prosperity of the farmer is disclosed in the census 
reports, for the state added 400,000 people to her popula- 
tion between 1890 and 1900, and 300,000 more between 
1900 and 1 910, reaching a total population of 2,075,000, 



246 A GREAT COMMONWEALTH 

or more than double the population of 1880. It is interest- 
ing to observe that the increase was chiefly in the central 
and northern counties. For while the southern portion has 
held its own, the increasing values of farm land in that fertile 
section have made it difhcult for the younger generation 
to make homes there. Farms in Houston, Mower, Blue 
Earth, and other counties, that could have been purchased 
at $10 an acre in the eighties, have sold at from $50 
to $100 an acre in recent years. One farm near Austin, 




A Minnesota prairie farm. 

given by the government in 1856, was sold by the home- 
steader in 1909 for $75 an acre, and resold in 1913 for 
$115 an acre. 

Land in the north. — On the other hand, the great 
prairies of the Red River Valley have continued to invite 
settlers who could afford to pay railroad and school-land 
prices. The government has continued to give quarter 
sections in the northern part of the state, including choice 
pieces in the Red Lake reservation opened in 1896. Even 
now there are more than a miUion acres left. The hardwood 



A GREAT COMIMONWEALTH 247 

forests, as well as the '^ cut-over " lands of the middle 
section of the state have yielded to the energy of the sons 
of pioneers who braved the toils of the southern prairies, 
and to the immigrants from many lands, who have spent 
their httle cash and much labor to develop them. Every 
month, auction sales of state school lands that can be ob- 
tained at from $10 to $20 an acre, with long-time payments, 
are held at several towns. Therefore the settler is pushing 
his way into the silent north. Messages begin to come 
from post offices with strange names, and cities appear 
above the horizon almost before the average man realizes 
that life can really be made endurable beyond a certain 
boundary line. 

Value of '' waste lands." — The pieces of undeveloped 
land scattered here and there over the older and more 
settled sections of the state have been taken up in these 
later days, and, having been obtained, have been found to 
contain the same kind of gold as that at the roots of the 
wheat on the older homesteads. " Waste land," either 
rocky or swampy, is on the market at from $20 to $25 
an acre. Thus from the Iowa line to Rainy River there 
is now no large section untouched by agriculture, and 
we can expect that within twenty years the ten-dollar 
land of the forests will repeat the history of the home- 
steads along the Minnesota River. In all, the state has 
28,000,000 acres in farms, of which 20,000,000 acres are 
improved. The value of these farms, with their ma- 
chinery, is $1,315,000,000. 

Gain in production. — The gain in production in twenty 
years has been tremendous. The following tables show 
what increase Minnesota has made in farm products, 
according to the United States census reports of 1910. 



248 



A GREAT COMMONWEALTH 



Table I 





Farms 


Valuation 


Value of Products 


1850 


157 




$270,000 








i860 


18,200 




32,000,000 








1870 


46,500 




125,000,000 




$33,000,000 


1880 


92,300 




236,000,000 




50,000,000 


1890 


117 ,000 




415,000,000 




71,000,000 




Wheat (Bu.) 


Corn (Bu.) 


Oats (Bu.) 


Barley (Bu.) 


Potatoes 
(Bu.) 


1850 


1,500 


17,500 


30,000 


1,000 


2 1 ,000 


i860 


2,000,000 


3,000,000 


2,000,000 


1,100,000 


2,500,000 


1870 


19,000,000 


5,000,000 


11,000,000 


1,000,000 


2,000,000 


1880 


35,000,000 


15,000,000 


23,000,000 


3,000,000 


5,000,000 


1890 


52,000,000 


25,000,000 


50,000,000 


9,000,000 


1 1 ,000,000 




Hay (T.) 


Milk (Gal.) 


Butter (Lb.) 


Poultry 


Eggs (Doz.) 


1850 


2,000 




1,100 






i860 


180,000 




3,000,000 






1870 


700,000 


208,000 


9,500,000 






1880 


1,650,000 


1,500,000 


19,000,000 


2,100,000 


8,250,000 


1890 


3,000,000 


183,000,000 


35,000,000 


4,500,000 


20,350,000 



Table II 



Increase — 1890 to 19 10 





1890 


1900 


1910 


Farms (acres) . . . 
Valuation .... 
Value of Products 
Wheat (bu.) . . . 
Corn (bu.) .... 


117,000 

$18,600,000 

$415,000,000 

52,000,000 

25,000,000 


155,000 

$26,200,000 

$560,000,000 

95,000,000 

47,000,000 


156,000 

$27,700,000 

$1,500,000,000 

57,000,000 

68,000,000 



A GREAT COMMONWEALTH 



249 



Table II {Continued) 
Increase — 1890 to 19 10 





1890 


1900 


1910 


Oats (bu.) .... 


50,000,000 


74,000,000 


100,000,000 


Barley (bu.) 






9,000,000 


24,000,000 


35,000,000 


Potatoes (bu.) 






11,000,000 


14,600,000 


27,000,000 


Hay (tons) . 






3,000,000 


4,400,000 


6,000,000 


Butter (lb.) . . 






35,000,000 


41,000,000 


89,000,000 


Poultry . . . 






4,500,000 




•10,690,000 


Cattle . . 






1,375,000 


1,800,000 


2,350,000 


Hogs . . . 






850,000 


1,450,000 


1,500,000 


Horses . . 






460,000 


700,000 


750,000 



As encouraging as this report seems, the progress since 
the last formal report is still more so. An examination of 
the following table will be convincing: 



Agricultural Report of 191 2 

Wheat (bu.) 68,000,000 

Oats (bu.) 112,000,000 

Corn (bu.) 96,000,000 

Barley (bu.) 35,000,000 

Potatoes (bu.) 30,000,000 

Hay (tons) 2,500,000 

Butter (lb.) 120,000,000 

Poultry 11,000,000 

Cattle 2,500,000 

Hogs 1,500,000 

Horses 750,000 



Value 

$50,000,000 

30,000,000 

35,000,000 

15,000,000 

9,000,000 
25,000,000 
30,000,000 

4,600,000 
50,000,000 
14,000,000 
90,000,000 



In barley production, Minnesota leads all the states of 
the North Central section, and only Michigan and Wisconsin 
equal her in production of potatoes. Rye, that yielded 
nearly 6,000,000 bushels in 191 3, is becoming a steady 



250 



A GREAT COIMMONWEALTH 



production for the state ; and flax, with a yield of 4,000,000 
bushels, is a reliable crop, especially on new ground. 

The most interesting increase, however, is in corn grow- 
ing. Forty years ago, it was popularly supposed that no 
corn could be grown north of the Iowa line, but the northern 
limit of the corn belt has advanced more than twenty miles 
for each decade since 1870, and now great acre yields are 
reported from the upper Red River Valley counties. It is 
confidently expected that corn will yet rival wheat through- 
out the whole district. This will be brought about by 
the perfection of seed, which has been much emphasized 
during the past twenty years. In prize contests, repeat- 
edly, a hundred bushels have been grown on a single 
acre. No responsible farmer is content with double the 
acre yield that used to satisfy the farmer of forty years 
ago. 

It is important to know that although she has not yet 
produced the greatest quantity of corn, Minnesota leads 
all the North Central States except Wisconsin in acre 
yield, with forty and a half bushels. To observe a 
farmer carefully selecting, drying, and testing his seed corn 
so that at least ninety-eight per cent of it will grow ; to 
listen to earnest discussion as to what variety and what 
cultivation will yield the best results ; and to see the crowds 
that greet the *' seed specials " sent out by the agricultural 
school every year, answers the question, '' How has 
Minnesota become a corn state? " 

Two reasons for the increase in the number of cattle 
stand out prominently. First, the adoption of better 
farming methods, through the leadership of the agricul- 
tural experts, and the opening of the great forest lands of 
the north have made it possible to support Iwo cows where 



A GREAT COMMONWEALTH 



251 



one grazed before. It is clear that when the settler finds 
that clover will grow to an amazing yield between the old 
pine stumps that he cannot remove all at once, he is not 
slow to avail himself of an immediate income. Hence 
the creamery has been following the pioneer, even accom- 
panying him. The second reason is that the western 
ranges are being limited. Farmers are plowing up the 
grazing grounds of the Dakotas, Wyoming, and Montana. 
These farmers raise wheat. Hence the production of 





l^W' 







A HERD OF Minnesota dairy cattle. 

beef for the market has been a profitable business for 
Minnesota, and will be even more so as the years pass. 
Diversified farming. — Diversified farming has, however, 
become the word which to the Minnesota farmer signifies 
success. Instead of planting a single crop, he grows a 
little of nearly everything that the state experimental 
farm has produced. His grain is supplemented by his 
cream, calves, colts, hogs, chickens, bees, and a garden. 
Instead of stakiag his hopes upon an annual harvest and 
taking the risk of being blessed or ruined by a single 
storm or drought, he has come to reap a harvest every 



252 A GREAT COMMONWEALTH 

month. Instead of living upon store goods,- bought at 
ruinous prices from the proceeds of his wheat, he finds his 
cellar a treasure cave which supplies his table, through the 
resting season of the soil, with a variety of roots and fruits 
that bid defiance to discouragement. Eggs and milk and 
honey add their cheer at all seasons. 

Happier farm life. — This cheer has now permeated the 
family. Instead of being depressed by the forlorn house 
of endless labor, backed by a collection of scrawny sheds, 
with the waste of the farm and its work strewed about the 
yard, they take pleasure in a comfortable home, where books 
and pictures and music ease the day's toil. Over a well- 
kept lawn, they pass out to the mail box for the daily 
paper, and with no old machinery or broken wagons in the 
way can visit the neatly painted stable and barn. They 
keep in communication with their neighbors by telephone, 
and visit remote parts of the state and country without 
being beggared by the trip. They send their children to 
college, and attend lectures and institutes. To be a member 
of a farmer's household in Minnesota is to live comfortably. 

Agricultural betterment. — The work of improving not 
only the seed but every agricultural operation and the 
soil as well goes forward. Out of the income from the 
magnificent permanent school fund of $22,000,000, the 
state has been able to offer special inducements to high 
schools that will teach farming effectively, and thirteen 
schools are now receiving this special aid of from $1000 to 
$5000 a year. Thus the expert knowledge necessary to 
make the land do its best is brought every day to the 
farm boy, while his sister is being benefited by courses 
in housekeeping that will make the farmhouse of the future 
fully as comfortable and homelike as the city dwelling. 



A GREAT COMMONWEALTH 253 

In the next few years we shall see a great increase in these 
special courses in all parts of the state. 

Another effective improvement is the county agricul- 
tural agent, who, throughout the growing season, goes 
among the farmers, instructing them in all departments of 
their work, getting them to experiment with new ways and 
means, and encouraging them to grow more crops. In 
the west central portion of the state about fifteen counties 
employ these agents. 

Finally, the agricultural schools and colleges have con- 
tinued to apply themselves to the problems of acquiring for 
Minnesota all the farm value that she has to offer, without 
wasting the good qualities of the soil. They are stimulat- 
ing a better seed campaign, and are graduating the experts 
needed in the field. They are the laboratories where the 
tests can be made by which the general production of the 
state may be increased and improved in quality. On their 
farms, cooperating with the United States government, 
they teach year by year the silent lesson of crop better- 
ment. Through their institutes, lecturing tours, and 
bulletins, they continually call upon the farmers to look up 
and ahead, for the days of scientific farming are at hand. 

One effective aid that they render is in the prevention 
of loss through insects or disease. Various grain and fruit 
destroyers, as well as the dreaded hog cholera, have 
received the attention of skilled experts. These experts 
have explained to the people of the state what to do to 
prevent losses, and how to do it. Thus it has come to 
pass within recent years that the farmer who would once 
have smiled at an instructor's telling him how to do things, 
now awaits the reports and follows the advice that leads 
him on the road to prosperity. 



254 A GREAT COMMONWEALTH 

The farmers' club. — Another instrument in the develop- 
ment of Minnesota's agriculture is the farmers''club move- 
ment. The grange was interested chiefly in procuring 
justice for the farmers. Now that they are in the way 
to obtain justice, they no longer desire organization for 
political reasons. Instead, they are getting together in 
neighborhood organizations for the purpose of receiving 
and exchanging ideas as to better methods, as well as for 
social recreation. Clubhouses are being built, in which 
men and boys may enjoy some of the privileges that make 
city life attractive, and where the women and girls may 
partake of the recreation which they longed for in times 
past, and which is so necessary to happiness. 

Farming as a business. — All of this does not mean that 
farming in Minnesota is being made easy. Always there 
must be the hard labor in the field, always the problems of 
the housekeeper, always the fight against flood, drought, 
frost, insects, or disease, always the careful planning lest 
this or that device fail. But it does mean that as a 
reward for the hot, dusty corn-plowing, the harvest will 
be double what it was ; for the housework, a well-satisfied 
household ; for the contest against foul weather, worms, 
or other enemies, the hope of victory. In other words, 
the farmer is taking himself seriously and will be taken 
seriously. He will be happy in the knowledge that certain 
definite processes will produce definite results. He will 
not be the victim, as he has been, of blind chance. He 
will not turn over his soil and throw in his seed, or breed 
his stock, in a stolid way, blessed or cursed by whatever 
may come to him. He will be a citizen whom the dwellers 
in towns will envy, as, indeed, they are beginning to envy 
him now. 



A GREAT COMMOXWEALTH 255 



SUlSniARY 

Despite the hard times of 1890-1S97, Minnesota faced its problems 
bravely. 
It sent four regiments to help wage the war against Spain, and then 

sent Senator Da\4s to help make peace. 
It passed through an Indian fright safely. 
It sent farmers into the hardwood country-, and greatly increased 

its acreage and production. 
It made hfe happy for the farmers by teaching them how to till 
the soil and how to live. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Why has there been so little trouble with the Chippewa 
Indians ? 

2. Why should the jdeld of barley and corn increase and the ^ield 
of wheat tend to decrease ? 

3. What makes the farmer's life so much happier now than it was 
formerly? Does the modern farmer have an easy time? Why? 

REFERENCES 

United States Census Returns. 

Minnesota, the North Star State. — WilUam W. Folwell. 

Minneapolis Journal and Tribune, Current Reports. 



CHAPTER XXI 

WOOD AND IRON 

Lumbering. — There has been a steady decline in the 
lumber industry in recent years. Like the " cattle kings " 
of the west and the " cotton kings " of the south, Minne- 
sota has had her '^ lumber kings." Too often they were 
content to take the value from the forests, leaving barren 
wastes behind, for their heirs to use as they saw fit. The 
magnificent forests of the Pacific slope have attracted 
many of them from the scantier picking that Minnesota 
now offers. But so great was the original supply, — 
18,000,000 acres, — that after more than fifty years of lum- 
bering 1,300,000,000 feet of white pine remains. Mills in 
the northern part of the state, drawing their logs from the 
Rainy River country, promise to saw boards for some 
years to come. All together the mills of the state cut 
more than 1,000,000,000 feet in 191 5, valued by the forestry 
board at millions of dollars. The total value of lumber 
manufactures was $40,000,000. 

The fir, spruce, balsam, and other woods have furnished 
many products, such as wood pulp for paper, manufac- 
tured barrel and box parts, and paving blocks. They 
have been the making of many new towns, even while 
the cities of the southern portion of the state have grad- 
ually lost their mills and their rank as lumbering centers. 
Consequently, were there no chance of partly reproducing 

256 



WOOD AND IRON 



257 



the forests of the state, Minnesota would still have to be 
reckoned among the lumber states of the Union for many 
years to come. 

State forestry board. — Fortunately, there is hope that 
the people will demand such reproduction. They have 
created a forestry board, which is laboring hard to edu- 
cate them to see the importance of forests. The board is 




A Minnesota lumber camp. 

studying the methods employed in Germany, Austria, 
and other European countries, especially the first-named, 
where for more than a thousand years the Black Forest has 
furnished boards and firewood, and still has boards and 
firewood without decreasing the supply. The Europeans 
have no patented secret. They simply regard the trees 
as a Minnesota farmer regards his wheat, which it is equally 
wasteful to cut before or after it is ripe. Furthermore, 
the same wisdom that leads the Minnesota farmer to keep 

STORY OF MINN. — 1 7 



258 WOOD AND IRON 

fire and mischievous insects from his wheat, compels the 
European to ward off harm from his trees. 

The Minnesota forestry board has exerted itself to apply 
this wisdom to the forests that the state still controls. 
Through its rangers and fire wardens it is preserving the 
timber of individuals also. But the state had given away, 
or allowed to be taken away from it, most of the valuable 
forests before the board was created. Hence the board 
had the hardest of tasks, — to create forest reserves out of 
the abandoned wastes left by the exploiters. 

Reforesting. — The story of the work of the forestry 
board, as related in its annual reports, is a good sign of 
the heart that rings true, in a nation with apparently Kttle 
care for its to-morrow. In the first place, the board has se- 
cured for the state a forest covering 40,000 acres. In addi- 
tion, through sale and gift, it expects to reforest 1,000,000 
acres of non-agricultural land. Besides preventing and 
fighting fires, the board is each year planting hundreds 
of acres to white pine. It maintains nurseries and employs 
experts to cultivate the young trees. 

Fire prevention. — Perhaps the best work that the 
board has done is to procure the passage of laws looking 
to the prevention of forest fires. It has been declared 
unlawful to leave the tops and branches of trees lying in 
piles, as was formerly the custom, to leave camp or clear- 
ing fires unwatched, or to operate an engine without a 
spark arrester. The responsibility for fire has been placed 
upon the person or persons to whom it can be traced ; and 
penalties have been imposed. Wardens are constantly 
patrolUng their respective districts, on the lookout for dan- 
ger to the property and lives of the people who have ven- 
tured into the great forest country. 



WOOD AND IRON 



259 




Cabins of the lumberjacks. 



The need of these precautions has been forced upon 
the state by several disasters. On September i, 1894, a 
fire started in the vicinity of Hinckley, Pine County. It 
carried, to use the words of the Minnesota Legislative 
Manual, " death and destruction over nearly four hundred 
square miles of territory, destroying the towns of Hinckley 
and Sandstone, causing the death of four hundred and 
seventeen people, rendering homeless and destitute twenty- 
two hundred men, women, and children, and entailing 
a property loss of about one million dollars." The news- 
paper accounts of the time describe the tortures of the 
few who sought safety in a mill pond, while the billows 
of flame rolled over them, and the terrible smoke and 
heat sapped their strength. The writers portrayed the 
heroic action of Engineer Root, who pulled his train- 
load of refugees through the midst of the fire, keeping 
a steady hand on the throttle, although he had been 
cruelly burned himself. 



26o WOOD AND IRON 

This fire was greatly surpassed in financial loss, though 
with loss of but thirty lives, by the fires of 190S and 1910, 
when Chisholm, Baudette, and Spooner were wiped out. 
In all a total of more than a million acres were burned 
over during these years, and property to the value of 
nearly twenty-five million dollars was destroyed. The con- 
stantly increasing values in the towns make the great 
difference of property loss. This in turn has caused the 
legislature to do still more for the protection of the 
citizens from the fire fiend. 

The state now has the power to burn slashings and 
collect the cost from the owner, to exact greater care on 
the part of railroad companies, and to enforce notification 
when logging is to begin. It has a state forester working 
with the forestry board, whose duty it is to become famil- 
iar with all state timber and cut-over lands and to further 
the reforestation of these lands. It is the work of the 
state forester to advance the education of the people re- 
garding forestry, to establish patrol districts, to direct 
rangers, and, in general, to guide the way to the prevention 
of further loss to the state timber, as well as to show 
how it can be made a constantly producing, paying crop. 
Another wise provision gives any city, town, or village in 
the state the right to maintain a forest as do communities 
in Europe, and the right to support it by tax. It may 
be said in future years that the efficient forestry adminis- 
tration of Minnesota has been due in great part to the 
tremendous losses proved to be preventable. 

The Ninth Amendment. — November 3, 1914, must re- 
main a notable date in the history of Minnesota, for then the 
Ninth Amendment was passed by the people. This per- 
mits the state to take over about a milHon acres of stony 



WOOD AND IRON 



261 



land, unlit for agriculture but able to produce pine. Thus 
reforestation on a profitable scale has become possible. 
In less than a half century the crop planted on this land 
will be marketable. In fact, a permanent supply of tim- 
ber will be guaranteed, if the trust is faithfully kept. 

Development of the iron industry. — The development 
of iron mining in Minnesota in recent years is as remarkable 




Loading iron ore on cars at mine, Hibbing. 

as the gold discoveries in California. Reference has been 
made to the first discovery, on the Vermilion Range, 
in 1878. In 1890 the Merritt brothers, of Duluth, dis- 
covered valuable ore on the Mesabi Range. This range, 
as may be seen on the map, extends from near Grand 
Rapids on the Mississippi, northeasterly for nearly a hun- 
dred miles. The first shipment of ore was made in 1892, 
but during that year less than 5000 tons were excavated. 



262 



WOOD AND IRON 



It was found that the greatest body of the ore prob- 
ably lay near the surface, and that it was soft. Hence, 
together with the deep shafts and underground tunneling 
that are suggested by the word mine, the steam shovel 
was put to work stripping off the hundred feet of loam, 
gravel, or clay, digging out the ore, and loading it upon dump 
cars. The cars were run down to Duluth and out upon the 









Ore docks at Duluth. 

docks that have become famous the world over, where they 
deposited their loads down chutes into the giant steamers. 
Daily the great ore boats left the port of Duluth for Erie 
and for Chicago, until the trade in Minnesota's iron 
grew to vast proportions. The state rose from fifth to 
first place in the production of iron ore in a very few 
years. 

Facts concerning the increase. — Minnesota, at the 
present time, supplies three fifths of all the iron ore used 



WOOD AND IRON 



263 



in the United States. In 191 1 the Cuyuna Range, extend- 
ing southeast of and parallel to a line from Brainerd to 
Aitkin, began to add to the grand total for the state half 
a million tons annually. The production from all three 
ranges, since the beginning of the industry in 1882, has 
been nearly 500,000,000 tons, the Mesabi alone contributing 
more than 30,000,000 tons yearly. The total value of the 
ore mined in Minnesota in 191 3 was nearly $100,000,000. 
The growth of the industry is shown in the table. 

Table of Iron Ore 





Tons 


Employees 


Wages 


Value of 
Products 


1884 


62,000 








1892 


1,250,000 








1900 


10,000,000 


9,760 


$6,390,000 


$ 24,000,000 


1902 


15,150,000 








I9IO 


31,967,000 


17,270 


11,500,000 


57,000,000 


I9I2 


34,200,000 






100,000,000 


I9I5 


32,423,000 









Growth of the range towns. — Along the spur of the 
Mesabi, cities developed almost before the rest of the state 
knew of their existence. Two of these, Hibbing and Vir- 
ginia, connected by electric Kne, have pressed their way 
since the census of 1900 into the ranks of the ten largest 
towns, and are still growing. Many other " range towns " 
have grown up along the railways that now zigzag all 
through the district. These places have called to the 
state immigrants very different from those who settled 
the prairie counties. They are chiefly people from southern 
Europe, men of energy and thrift, but possessed of Httle 
education. Many of them make frequent journeys to 



264 



WOOD AND IRON 



their native land, since for the most part they are single 
young men. 

Duluth a great city. — It is easy to understand why 
Duluth has become one of the great ports of the world. 
Little did the voyageurs and captains who for hundreds of 
years sought refuge from the fierce Superior waves in the 
harbor at Fond du Lac dream of a town fifteen miles from 




An iron mine, Ely district. 

that harbor. In 1880 the 4000 people of this settlement 
of Minnesota Point looked out upon the great lake and 
yearned for trade that their point of vantage might give. 
In 1890 the 35,000 people of Duluth were in a mad scramble 
to reach as far toward the priceless hills as possible, while 
making their harbor a great port of entry. Fond du Lac 
became the westernmost point within the city limits, 
which extended, as has been said, thence down the St. 
Louis River and the lake shore for twenty miles. 



WOOD AND IRON 265 

In 1900 more than 50,000 people were counted within 
the Hmits of Duluth, and in 1910 about 80,000. In these 
years it has become Hnked to the Twin Cities by four great 
railway lines, with the iron country by four more, and with 
the great western wheat district by three. Besides ship- 
ping out the ore of the state, Duluth is the shipping port 
for the wheat of the Red River Valley and the Dakota 
plains, and the coal-distributing center for the northwest. 

SUMMARY 

Minnesota is not only a bread and butter state, but also a wood and 
iron state. 
It produces great values in forest stuffs. 

It has taken steps to increase this production by scientific forestry. 
Its iron mines lead the world in production. 
Its lake ports are known all over the world. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Why may trees be regarded as a crop? 

2. How long does it take a white pine to reach a marketable size? 

3. Find out how much iron is estimated to be left in Minnesota. 

REFERENCES 

Irofi Mining in Minnesota. — C. E. Von Barnevelt. 

Discovery and Development of Iron Industry. — W. N. Winchell. 

Reports of State Forestry Board for igi2, 191 3, and 1914. 



CHAPTER XXII • 

COMMERCIAL POWER 

Increase in manufacturing. — Manufacturing has been 
confined chiefly to operations related to the agricultural and 
lumber industries, for it has seemed best to ship ore rather 
than smelt it upon the ground. The plant at Duluth is 
the first attempt at smelting, with the exception of some 
sHght efforts made in the nineties at Minneapolis. At 
the end of this chapter is a comparative table showing the 
growth in the chief manufactures of the state since 1890. 
From this table it can be seen that although Minnesota, 
as the census states, is not primarily a manufacturing state, 
her industries are in a flourishing condition. In the tables 
on page 271 a significant tale is told of the growth between 
1850 and 1910. 

Water power. — The gain in manufacturing is due in 
great part to the control of water power, in which the state 
of Minnesota is extremely rich. Once it was supposed 
that St. Anthony Falls, with its 40,000 horse power, was 
enough to satisfy any state. But within twenty years 
the water power added to the manufacturing industry has 
been more than 100,000 horse power, generated chiefly by 
the great Thomson dam in the St. Louis River near 
Duluth, the St. Croix Falls, Coon Creek near Anoka, and 
the high dam near Minnehaha Park. Competent engineers 
prophesy that a further development of 100,000 horse 

266 



COMMERCIAL POWER 



267 




< 
a 

H 

< 

o 

w 
a 

H 
O 



o 

w 

en 
I-) 
1-1 

O 

M 
H 



H 



268 



COMMERCIAL POWER 



power is possible. With this available, Minnesota will un- 
doubtedly become one of the leading states in manufacturing. 

Ease of transportation. — The gain in manufacturing 
is due also to improved railway facilities. Not only has 
the railroad mileage increased to 9000, but terminal 
advantages have been improved. The roads entering 
the Twin Cities are members of a company called the 
Minnesota Transfer, which has developed great switching 
* yards between the two cities. It operates a freight house, 
so that goods may be transferred quickly from one rail- 
road to another. There is therefore scarcely any delay 
in shipping. At Duluth, the four roads running from the 
mines carry ore out on the docks, where they dump a 
trainload in twenty minutes. 

Similarly the Duluth-Twin City lines load their trains 
with coal on great docks projecting out into the lake, and 
rush it to the manufacturer with no delay. The grain 
railroads, stretching further and further into the Canadian 
northwest, and reaching out little spurs into every granary 
along the way, roll their millions of bushels either to Duluth 
to be shipped eastward over the lakes, or to Minneapolis, 
the greatest primary wheat market in the world, for storage 
or milling. Close upon the loads of grain come loads of 
cattle and hogs for the great market and packing houses 
of South St. Paul, or for feeding at the New Brighton 
yards en route to the Chicago market. This great busi- 
ness employs 56,000 persons, or one fortieth of the 
population. 

Other means of transportation have recently been begun. 
Electric lines radiating out from the Twin Cities are already 
the farmers' handy carts, and are quick and frequent 
carriers of passengers from the territory adjacent. On 



COMINIERCIAL POWER 269 

the Mesabi Range an interurban electric line is likewise 
in operation, and other communities are anxious to be 
connected thus with larger centers of trade. 

The improvement of the Mississippi by the high dam 
near Minneapolis, which means vastly increased advantage 
to all shippers along the river, is to be followed by a devel- 
opment of other watercourses, if the plans of various im- 
provement leagues are carried out. So Minnesota may 
once more see fleets, after struggling for fifty years to escape 
from dependence upon them. The boats will, however, 
be helpers of the railroads, carrying the cheaper, bulkier, 
less perishable goods, that can move more slowly than the 
locomotive cares to go. Both electric car and steamboat 
will prove friends to the Minnesota manufacturer, mer- 
chant, and farmer. 

Banking power. — With the increase of wealth, added 
to the agricultural and other resources that have piled 
up within the last two decades, we must connect the devel- 
opment of the banking power. In the large cities corre- 
spondents of the great banks of the nation have become 
powerful, and have added to their influence by attaching 
in one way or another the interests of institutions scattered 
all over the northwest. In Minnesota there are more 
than a thousand banks. The deposits of these banks in 
1913 amounted to $335,000,000, of which sum $240,000,000 
is in banks outside of the Twin Cities. The Minnesota 
Bankers' Association in recent years has taken great inter- 
est in the development of the state. It has appointed 
committees to further effective rural education, to help 
introduce more cattle into the state, and to encourage 
better farming. This banking power was able to draw one 
of the National Reserve banks to the state. 



270 COMMERCIAL POWER 

The state's financial condition. — As to the financial 
condition of the state itself, the statement that it be- 
gan the fiscal year 1914-1915 with a balance of nearly 
$4,000,000 is certainly assuring to its people. According to 
the state treasurer, the business of the Minnesota govern- 
ment for the fiscal year 1913-1914 was $43,000,000, which 
is $6,000,000 greater than for 1912-1913, and more than 
200 per cent greater than the treasurer's business of 1903- 
1904. More than $3,000,000 was added to the various 
trust funds. Exclusive of land contracts the state's in- 
vestments yielded $775,000. 

The following table gives the chief sources of the state's 
fund outside of direct taxes : 

Railroads, gross earning tax $5,775,000 

Inheritance taxes 650,000 

Incorporation fees 96,000 

Insurance companies' tax 458,000 

Telephone companies' tax 220,000 

Inebriate hquor tax . 53i000 

Timber stumpage 466,000 

Royalties of iron ore 676,000 

Manufacturing — Table I 



Flour and gristmill prod- 
ucts 

Lumber and lumber prod- 
ucts, including house 
parts 

Masonry and carpentry . 

Machinery, including 
foundry work and car 
repairs 



1890 



1900 



1910 



$60,000,000 $84,000,000 $140,000,000 



32,000,000 
22,400,000 



9,000,000 



49,000,000 
14,000,000 



19,600,000 



42,350,000 



28,000,000 



COMMERCIAL POWER 



271 



Table I {Continued) 





1890 


I9CX3 


I9I0 


Printing and publishing of 








newspapers and books 


$5,650,000 


$7,700,000 


$16,000,000 


Cheese and butter 


3,000,000 


8,500,000 


25,000,000 


Liquors 


2,200,000 


4,500,000 


10,500,000 


Clothing, including boots 








and shoes, hats, gloves 








and knit goods . 


10,000,000 


14,000,000 


19,000,000 


Linseed oil 






1 1 ,000,000 


Slaughtering and meat 








packing 






28,000,000 



Table II 







Growth from i 


850 TO 1890 






Number 
of Estab- 
lishments 


Capital 


Employees 


Wages 


Value of 
Products 


1850 


5 


$94,000 


63 


$18,600 


$60,000 


i860 


562 


2,400,000 


2,125 


712,000 


3,375,000 


1870 


2,270 


12,000,000 


11,300 


4,000,000 


23,000,000 


1880 


3oOO 


31,000,000 


21,250 


8,600,000 


76,000,000 


1890 


7,500 


128,600,000 


70,000 


30,400,000 


192,000,000 



Table III 





Growth from 1890 to 19 10 




Number of 
establish- 
ments 


Capital 


Employees 


Wages 


V'alue of 
Products 


1890 
1900 
I9I0 


7,500 
11,100 


$ 128,600,000 
166,000,000 
275,500,000 


70,000 
77,000 
85,000 


$30,400,000 
35,500,000 
47,500,090 


$ 192,000,000 
263,000,000 
409,500,000 



272 COMMERCIAL POWER 

SUMMARY 

Although only secondarily a manufacturing state, Minnesota pro- 
duces articles that are known widely, because of : 

The abundance of foodstuffs near at hand. 

The amount of wood and iron available. 

Good transportation facilities. 

The rapidly improving market of the northwest. 

The credit that these advantages give to manufacturers. 
By reason of its many advantages the state is in a good financial 
condition. 

Its banking power is great. 

The state treasury is full. 

QUESTIONS 

1. What is necessary to promote manufacturing? 

2. What is meant by horse power? 

3. How is power derived from a waterfall? 

4. Why should bankers be interested in education and farming? 

REFERENCES 

United States Census Returns. 
Minneapolis Journal and Tribune. 
Report of the State Treasurer for 1914. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

CONSERVATION OF PEOPLE 

The school fund. — An idea has been given of the force 
behind the educational system. It is more significant to 
state that the school fund of Minnesota is now $26,000,000 
and is increasing at the rate of $2,000,000 a year. The 
fund is safely invested, but the income of more than 
$2,000,000 is available for the annual needs of the various 
classes of schools, graded, semigraded, classes A^ B, and C 
rural schools, and high schools. It is, however, required 
that any of these schools, before receiving state aid, must 
fulfill the conditions imposed by law. These conditions 
consist chiefly in furnishing suitable buildings and equip- 
ment and employing teachers of sufficient training, besides 
being able to put to effective use any money paid for sus- 
taining special departments, agricultural, manual-training, 
domestic-science, or normal. 

In this way the state stimulates the various school 
boards to improve. No longer does the drafty, ill-venti- 
lated building stand at the country crossroads. No longer 
does the ill-kept village schoolhouse distribute disease 
germs among the pupils it was intended to rear for the 
service of the state. Instead, one sees neatly painted school 
buildings amid trees that often the children have planted ; 
or in the village substantial brick and stone structures 
to which the people point with pride. In the past twenty 

STORY OF MINN. — l8 273 



274 



CONSERVATION OF PEOPLE 



years this better building has gone forward extensively. 
The number of schoolhouses has increased from 5800 to 
8900, their value from $10,000,000 to $41,000,000. 

Better teaching. — The standard of teaching has also 
been improved. In the early nineties it was supposed 
that a student upon graduation from a high school was- 
fitted to teach a rural school. He received not more than 




School building and wagons of the Lamberton consolidated district. 

thirty dollars a month, often only twenty-five. Grad- 
ually normal training has made its need felt, until to-day 
it is hard for one who has not received it to begin teach- 
ing. Instead of thirty he may now receive fifty or even 
sixty dollars a month. Similarly, the graded and high 
schools have set their standards higher ; and their salaries 
are at least thirty per cent better than they were in the 
nineties. 

Two important movements. — The two chief movements 
in education beyond this general development have been 



CONSERVATION OF PEOPLE 275 

the consolidation of rural schools and instruction in special 
courses. Instead of even the clean, well-equipped rural 
school, there has been substituted in many communities 
a larger central school to which several districts contribute 
and to which the pupils are hauled in wagons. Accord- 
ing to the superintendent's report, more than a hundred of 
these consolidated schools are now in operation. 

Several distinct advantages have been gained in this 
way. First, enough children are gathered to make possible 
a graded, or at least a semigraded school, under a compe- 
tent principal and teachers. Second, the attendance is 
more regular. Third, the school becomes more serviceable 
as a neighborhood center. The movement is still in its 
infancy, but under a special rural school inspector appointed 
in 1905 it is bound to grow, although the district-school 
idea dies as hard in Minnesota as elsewhere. 

Special training. — The introduction of manual-training 
courses was begun, in the cities first, about 1890. In that 
year Minneapolis had two teachers of manual training. 
Now she has about seventy. The work suffered from severe 
criticism, hence it reached the villages very slowly. But 
ten years later many high schools in the state were con- 
ducting manual arts courses, and in recent years nearly 
every one has adopted some phase of the work. 

About 1900 it began to be recognized that the farmer 
boys who attended village high schools were being trained 
away from the farm, so a course in agriculture was intro- 
duced. Now communities in all parts of the state are 
being given object lessons in farm efficiency, even as the 
citizen who saw his boy bring home a valuable piece of 
furniture was convinced of the practical value of manual 
training. From $1000 to $5150 is given to any high school 



276 



CONSERVATION OF PEOPLE 




State Normal School at Mankato. 



that will sustain an agricultural course. The latest develop- 
ment in special courses is the domestic science and art 
training offered by many high schools. Indications of 
courses in musical culture are many. The larger cities 
have already established good courses in this subject. 

Normal training has gone forward since 1890, through 
the improved courses offered, through the building of a 
fifth normal school at Duluth in 1902, and through the 
establishment of normal courses in eighty high schools by 
special appropriations of the state of $750 yearly. The 
state spends about $200,000 a year to support the normal 
schools. Thus provision is being made to furnish to all 
the schools teachers competent for their work. In addition, 
summer sessions at the University, the School of Agri- 
culture, and the various normal schools make it possible for 
teachers to add to their equipment without losing time 
from their earning year. 

Interesting figures. — The report of the state superin- 
tendent shows significantly the progress in education that 



CONSERVATION OF PEOPLE 



277 



Minnesota has made, especially since the beginning of the 
period we are reviewing. 







Number of 
Teachers 


Wages 




Schools Receiv- 
ing State Aid 










Pupils 








Men 


Women 


Men 


Women 




High 
Schools 


i860 


360 


809 


$19.40 


$ 10.00 


32,000 


585 




1870 


969 


2,089 


37-24 


23-13 


110,000 


2,119 




1880 


1,874 


3,341 


35-29 


27.52 


180,250 


3,700 




1890 


2,114 


6,722 


39.00 


27.00 


281,000 


5,864 


62 


1900 


2,052 


8,534 


40.75 


31.72 


400,000 


7,303 


115 


I9I2 


1,730 


14,345 


54.00 


45.00 


446,000 


8,835 


211 



In 191 2 the state paid $3,507,320 for the education of 
its children, and the various local communities taxed 
themselves to the extent of $13,600,372 to sustain their 
schools. In other words, each child enrolled cost $38.60, 
of which the state paid $7.91 and the local board $30.79. 

Progress of the University. — The University of 
Minnesota has become a great institution. It is attended 
by 8000 students in its departments of liberal arts, edu- 
cation, law, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, civil, mining, 
mechanical, and electrical engineering, agriculture, and 
forestry. It is supplying the state with the experts with- 
out which industries would falter and business Hfe stagnate. 

Dr. Cyrus Northrup retired from the presidency in 
191 1 in favor of Dr. George E Vincent, under whose ad- 
ministration an especially noteworthy change has taken 
place, looking in two directions. First, there has been 
a strengthening of the adjustment and cooperation of the 
various departments. Second, the extension work has 
progressed until the whole state has been impressed with 



278 



CONSERVATION OF PEOPLE 



the fact that its great equipment in the University is to 
be made to serve its needs in the largest possible way. 
The offers of special lecture tours, provisions for evening 




PiLLSBURY Hall, University of Minnesota. 

and summer courses, and greater opportunities to pursue 
graduate study have brought the University to the rank 
of the greatest. A larger campus and better buildings, 
including Folwell Hall completed in 1907, and the Institute 
of Anatomy finished in 191 2, the finest building of its kind 
in the world, have given courage and hope to its faculty 
and student body to do their best to keep it there. 

Other schools. — The various schools for unfortunate 
children are alert to adopt the best methods to train their 
pupils. At Faribault the schools for the blind, the deaf, 
and the feeble-minded have been improved so that they 
now care for 2200. The manual arts, agriculture, and 
suitable athletics have been introduced, and are applied 
practically to the wants of the various students. At 




CONSERVATION OF PEOPLE 



279 



Owatonna the school for dependent children, during twenty- 
six years of its existence, has cared for 4500 pupils, of 
whom about half have reached the age of twenty-one and 
are supporting themselves ; of the other half most are in 
homes where the school has placed them either for su- 
pervision, for adoption, or in the care of their parents. It is 
significant that in the great state of Minnesota there are 
but a few over two hundred pupils considered subject to 
this school. 

New ideas of correction. — That we can connect reforma- 
tories and the penitentiary with the school system is a 
sign of the attitude of the state toward erring boys and 
girls. The boys' school at Red Wing and a girls' school 




State Normal School at Moorhead. 



at Sauk Center are carefully studying the problem of mak- 
ing the unfortunate pupils that come to them fit citizens 
for Minnesota. Instead of treating these neglected chil- 
dren as they were wont to be treated years ago, the teachers 



28o CONSERVATION OF PEOPLE 

and directors strive to restore them to their homes cured 
of the desire to be seltish, as patients are returned from a 
hospital cured of disease. Less and less has it become 
necessary for the wrongdoer to go on doing wrong. The 
reformatory at St. Cloud and the state prison at Stillwater 
follow the methods of the best experts in the study of man- 
kind. So the state is training those who for one reason or 
another started life untrained, and is graduating them 
from its houses of correction ready and willing to work, 
and to let others work in peace, for the prosperity and edu- 
cation of Minnesota. 

The new building at Stillwater illustrates this principle 
in its structure. It contains, besides the necessary prison 
equipment, great recreation rooms ; and in its very cells 
are to • be found conveniences suggesting a life to lead 
rather than a punishment for past Ufe. Its workshops 
are thoroughly modern, its grounds laid out for the vari- 
ous uses of the inmates. In fact, probably no prison in 
the country better illustrates the new teaching of those 
who have broken the laws. 

The legislature of 191 5 passed a bill authorizing a spe- 
cial women's reformatory. For twenty-three years Mrs. 
Higbie, a prominent club woman, had appeared before legis- 
lative committees pleading for this institution. But what 
she was not permitted to see, her death brought about. 
After an eloquent speech in a committee room on March 3, 
she dropped dead of heart disease. This, with the story 
of her struggle, decided the issue. 

Important laws. — Among the measures that have 
been won for the people, the primary law stands out promi- 
nently. Enacted in 1905, it provided first only for the 
nomination of legislative candidates; but subsequent 



CONSERVATION OF PEOPLE 28 1 

amendments have made it apply to all state offices. Under 
this plan the people are more interested in the choice of 
candidates than they were under the old '' convention plan." 

Railroad legislation also has gone forward. We have 
seen that the granger laws made people sympathize with 
the railroads, and that the companies made the most of 
this sympathy. Gradually the people have won back 
some of the rights they sacrificed in the late seventies. 
They have raised the gross earnings tax to 5 per cent, they 
have secured material reductions in freight rates, have 
lowered the passenger rate from three to two cents a mile, 
and have abolished the issuing of passes to any but 
employees. This last provision has made legislators free 
to act on all railway matters. 

Perhaps the greatest achievement is the awakening 
of the people to the fact that they have given nearly a 
quarter of the state to the railroad companies, and that in 
consequence the roads are bound to treat them fairly. 
At the same time it has been acknowledged that the people 
must safeguard the railroads in a proper return on their 
capital. 

Other legislation. — The legislature has enlarged the 
usefulness of the schools by increased appropriation. It 
has provided for taxes to support good roads in all parts 
of the state, and has established an efficient forest service. 
It has revised the system of taxation whereby a citizen 
pays on a 40 per cent valuation in all parts of the state in- 
stead of paying according to the whim of an assessor. It 
has encouraged the reclaiming of the great swamp areas 
of the far north, and has encouraged the laborer, through 
a compensation law that helps him to collect his wages 
and other expenses, when he has been injured at his work. 



282 CONSERVATION OF PEOPLE 

Legislative records. — In 1909 Lynn Haines made a 
special study of the state legislature, and published his 
record in a book, The Minnesota Legislature of igog. A 
committee of citizens, interested in the betterment of 
political conditions in the state, gave the book their en- 
dorsement, saying that it deserved '' candid, discriminating, 
yet sympathetic perusal by every friend of good govern- 
ment." The book not only placed legislators on record, 
but increased the public interest in practical government ; 
and thus it may be said to mark the beginning of a new 
era in the political life of the state. 

Better city government. — The fight to win for the people 
utiHty rates and the removal of private companies from 
political control of cities has gone on continually since the 
nineties. Conspicuously brave was Henry Truelson, twice 
mayor of Duluth, who left his city a water-supply and 
gas-distributing plant. Duluth has become a model for 
the other cities of the state. Under a commission form 
of government since 1909, it is hoping to free itself still 
further from speculation and greed. One of the best 
elements in its government is the social-center depart- 
ment, under a trained expert. This department, by the 
grace of the school board, is able to gather the citizens of 
the various communities of the city for recreation and im- 
provement. Supervised play and dancing, picture shows, 
lectures, classes of various kinds, and clubs can thus be 
offered by the city, often much more effectively than by 
individual churches or other organizations. 

Other cities have been waging the fight for better govern- 
ment. Minneapolis has obtained better gas and electric 
rates, and has prepared for the expected river trade by 
purchasing space for her own wharves. Her park board 



CONSERVATION OF PEOPLE 283 

has opened several bathhouses within the past ten years, 
and has made at least a start towards encouraging children 
to do things that are worth while, by organizing games in 
some of the parks. St. Paul adopted the commission plan 
of government in 191 2. Among the smaller cities Mankato 
is prominent as a fighter for good government. She was 
the first Minnesota city to change to the commission plan. 
Other cities are studying various schemes for making their 
people happier. 

Religion. — Of the total, population of Minnesota about 
1,000,000 are members of the various organized churches. 
The Catholics are the strongest of the denominations, with 
about 400,000 ; next come the Lutherans with 300,000 ; 
and then the Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, Con- 
gregationalists, and Episcopalians in the order named. The 
different denominations have shown their power chiefly in 
their contest for the prohibition of the Hquor traihc, and 
in various movements directed against poor government. 
Not only do the pastors show a great interest in the welfare 
of the state, but the members, through their clubs and 
societies, study the various means by which the people of 
the state may achieve the greatest happiness. 

The clean-up campaign. — One of the best of the recent 
movements is in behalf of cleanliness. It was formerly 
the common thing even in the cities to pass rubbish from 
one lot to another, and to clutter the very streets with 
garbage. Now such conditions are so exceptional as to 
cause intense indignation. Even the villages, although 
slower to adopt sanitary precautions than the cities, are 
striving to separate bakeries as widely as possible from 
stables, and to enforce other health regulations. War- 
fare is being consistently waged upon the fly. At the 



284 



CONSERVATION OF PEOPLE 



same time the idea of 
civic beauty has grown. 
Filthy streets, unsightly 
refuse, ramshackle sheds, 
and unpainted houses are 
distinctly unpopular in 
the Minnesota of to-day. 
Notable deaths. — On 
April 2 2, 1903, Ramsey, 
territorial and war gov- 
ernor, shrewd politician 
and admired leader, died. 
On September 21, 1909, 
John A. Johnson died, 
while serving his third 
term. In 1908 he was 
recognized as a candidate 
for President on the Democratic ticket. His power to 
win people made him governor, despite the fact that the 
state had been strongly Republican since the Civil War. 




Governor John A. Johnson. 



SUMMARY 

Minnesota conserved her people by : 

Efficient education. 

Progressive legislation. 

Alert citizens. 

QUESTIONS 

1. What is meant by "state aid"? 

2. What is a consolidated school? 

3. What is the commission plan of city government? 

REFERENCES 

The Minnesota Legislature in igoy, and iqoq. — Lynn Haines. 
Report of the State Superintendent of Education, igi4. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

ART IN MINNESOTA 

The fine arts in pioneer days. — It remains to speak 
of the advancement in the line arts. It will be remem- 
bered that the first settlers in the St. Croix and Mississippi 
valleys were from Maine, many of them greatly interested 
in education. They showed this in their efforts to establish 
schools and a university almost before they had roofs over 
their heads. 

But even if they had been interested in music, painting, 
and sculpture, they were too busy and too poor to provide 
for these wants. They were, moreover, descended from 
the Puritans, and the Puritans never showed much interest 
in the fine arts. They had insisted on pubHc education 
almost as soon as they settled in Massachusetts, because 
they beheved that the salvation of a child from the terrors 
of sin required that he read and understand the Scriptures. 
So many of the best paintings were of the Virgin Mary 
and other saints that they were afraid to encourage art 
at all. Hymn music was necessary, but the Hght airs 
that please us or the beautiful compositions of the masters 
were not tolerated in a Puritan home. So even at the 
time that Minnesota was settled, there was little chance 
that even college graduates would have a tender feeling 
for beauty in any of its phases ; and as for those who had 
never pursued their schooling be3^ond the common school, 
the idea of beauty was never near them. 

285 



286 



ART IN MINNESOTA 



The first settlers had scarcely knocked together their 
crude houses and stores when the immigrant horde poured 
in from Germany and the Scandinavian countries, people 
sturdy because of the farm labor demanded of them, but 
peasants whose souls wanted, indeed, to express their 
feelings in some outward form but were denied the oppor- 
tunity. Who could stop to gaze at a landscape, or let his 
fingers idly roam over the keys of a piano, or wonder at 
the possible effect of this building or that upon the general 
plan? Minnesota was to wait until boys and girls whose 




Institute of Arts, Minneapolis. 

fathers had made possible their leisure could teach her 
how to enjoy beauty. 

Art beginnings. — Only within the past few years has 
the state begun to appreciate art. To be sure, the Minne- 
apolis School of Fine Arts was estabUshed in the seventies ; 
the Minneapolis Exposition of the eighties contained among 
its wonders an art gallery ; and St. Paul, with others of 
the large cities, was beginning to awaken to the need for 
training in this direction. But with the nineties a new 
era began. Musical organizations of various kinds sprang 
up in the larger cities and opportunities for the study of 
music began to be provided. These were accompanied by 
a corresponding movement in the interests of other forms 



ART IN MINNESOTA 287 

of art. The schools through their drawing and music 
instruction have encouraged this interest, until they have 
given the state a group of citizens alert to preserve natural 
beauty, as well as to produce the beautiful in many forms. 
Many men have given both their money and themselves 
to the cause. 

Beautiful buildings. — The fact that the children of 
these Puritans and immigrant peasants could build the 
State Capitol finished in 1905 is in itself an argument for 
their interest in art. The noble columns, impressive vistas, 
and stirring paintings of that building are constant sug- 
gestions to every school district and village to do more 
than merely to provide a shelter against the weather. 
That the suggestion is not being made in vain is proved 
by the beautiful buildings rising nearly everywhere through- 
out the state — courthouses, post offices, libraries, churches, 
schoolhouses, and residences. One of the most noteworthy 
elements in this artistic movement is the general improve- 
ment in business buildings. No longer is it deemed 
sufficient to inclose a space with brick and stone. Decora- 
tion is used with good effect, so that many of the banks, 
stores, offices, and even factory buildings are objects of 
beauty. 

State aid to culture. — The state government has been 
active in encouraging the culture of its people. In 1899 
the Minnesota Library Commission was organized and 
since that date has kept small collections of books traveling 
from place to place, thus encouraging the local library 
associations. In 1903 the State Art Society was created 
by the legislature. Its chief business is giving exhibitions 
of paintings in various towns, to stimulate the love of the 
beautiful among all the people. The value of the work 



288 



ART IN MINNESOTA 



done by these two organizations in the short period of 
their existence is incalculable. They have been greatly 
aided by the State Historical Society, and by the artists 
scattered over the state. 

An event of national interest was the dedication of the 
Minneapolis Institute of Arts on January 7, 191 5. Richly 




Itasca Lake from Douglas Lodge. 



endowed by Clinton Morrison and William Dunwoody, 
the institute has erected one unit, in itself magnificent, 
of what will be its complete building. It is able thus to 
house thousands of art treasures of all kinds, including 
the loan collections of the best pictures, sculptures, and 
handicraft art in America. This building, together with 
the famous Walker Gallery in MinneapoKs and the various 



ART IN MINNESOTA 289 

St. Paul collections, makes the Twin Cities one of the na- 
tion's art centers. 

State parks. — In recent years the state has preserved 
grounds and scenery for the pleasure of her citizens. Itasca 
Park, at the source of the Mississippi, contains 20,000 
acres of lake, stream, and fine forests, the last under the 
control of the forestry board. Interstate Park, managed 
by Minnesota and Wisconsin together, contains 700 acres 
along the beautiful Dalles of the St. Croix, of which 180 
are in Minnesota and to which the state plans to add 500 
acres more. Minneopa Falls, near Mankato, and Ramsey 
Falls of the Minnesota River, in Redwood County, are each 
inclosed by state parks. With these should be included 
the two government forest reserves northwest of Lake 
Superior and Cass Lake respectively, amounting in all to 
1,150,000 acres, and containing trout streams, numberless 
lakes, and all kinds of game. Although not parks nor 
under state control, with these resources the reserves are 
natural playgrounds for the people of the state. 

What has made Minnesota. — None of this work of 
development, whether agricultural, commercial, or cultural, 
could have been attained merely by processes of govern- 
ment. Behind every act of the legislature is the faithful 
work of some organization. The grange, once, and now the 
farmers' clubs, the association of bankers and dealers in 
various commodities, the state and local federations of 
workingmen, the various educational bodies, the musicians 
and artists, and other groups of men and women who have 
been willing to make personal sacrifice for the greater 
good, — all these have fostered the growth of Minnesota. 

Women in their club meetings have lately been effective 
agents of progress, and young people associated in various 

STORY OF MINN. — I9 



290 



ART IN MINNESOTA 




> 

Pi 



O 

u 

73 



C/3 

o 

< 

M 

H 

O 



ART IN MINNESOTA 291 

ways have eagerly contributed what they could. The 
story of Minnesota in her progress from savagery to civili- 
zation has been, therefore, a tale of noble effort. Through 
this effort the good has steadfastly pushed forward. 
Minnesota is large enough to provide every man, woman, 
and child in the United States, Porto Rico, Hawaii, and 
the Philippines a half acre of land. It produces from its 
soil an annual wealth of nearly $300,000,000, and from its 
manufacturing plants over $400,000,000, and it is ready to 
produce men and women who shall be worthy of the toil 
and sacrifice that the great commonwealth has cost. 

SUMMARY 

JMinnesota cultivates a sense of beauty in her citizens, through : 
Conserving her natural beauty. 
Building nobly. 
Organizing effectively. 

QUESTIONS 

1. How does a beautiful park or building affect character? 

2. What is being don 3 in your comriunity to cultivate beauty? 



CHAPTER XXV 

HOW LOCALITIES ARE GOVERNED 

The purpose of government. — The purpose of govern- 
ment is to permit a citizen to be as free as possible without 
interfering with the freedom of his neighbor ; to make one 




Minnesota State Capitol at St. Paul. 

community as free as possible without interfering with the 
freedom of any other community. In order to obtain 
this freedom, it is necessary for people to agree on certain 
rules of conduct that all shall observe. These rules for 
Minnesota are the constitution and laws of the United 

292 



HOW LOCALITIES ARE GOVERNED 293 

States, the constitution and laws of Minnesota, and cer- 
tain laws, such as village ordinances, which pertain to a 
limited district without touching other communities. 

Divisions of government. — The laws and ordinances 
which govern the conduct and customs of people are drawn 
up by a majority of their representatives, elected for this 
purpose. As it is hard to make language so clear that it 
cannot be misunderstood, certain other representatives, 
called judges, explain the laws and discover whether in* 
individual cases they have been disregarded or not. To 
enforce the laws still other representatives are chosen. 
These form what is known as the executive department of 
the government. The three sets of representatives, legis- 
lative or law-making, judicial or law-explaining, and exe- 
cutive or law-enforcing, compose the government, whether 
of the United States, Minnesota, or any part of Minnesota, 
such as a township or village or county. We shall try to 
make clear just how government is conducted in Minne- 
sota and its various divisions. 

Locating land. — A large part of the United States is 
marked off like a huge checkerboard, into six-mile squares. 
The rows extending north and south are called ranges ; those 
extending east and west are townships. To find any 
township, we notice where the lines forming its northern 
and southern boundaries intersect the lines forming the 
eastern and western boundaries of a given range. The 
plats on page 294 explain what is meant by range and 
township. 

That isj Township A is described as Township 128, 
Range 20; B is Township 128, Range 21, etc. ; and simi- 
larly I and L are described as Township 129, Range 23 and 
20 accordingly. 



294 



HOW LOCALITIES ARE GOVERNED 



Range 


Range 


Range 


Range 


: 23 


22 


21 


20 1 


E> 


O 


B 


A 1 
Township 123 \ 


I I ■ 


J 


K 


T.ownship 129 1 



E 



Plat I. 
D O 



B 



1 ■ 

i 

6 

1 G 


5 
H 


4 
I 


3 

J 


2 - 
K 


4o: 

160 r--^-^ 

; 80 ; 


t \ 


i 7 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 i 


! 18 


17 


16 


15 


14 


13 


I ^^ 


20 


21 


22 


23 


24 i 


j 30 


29 


28 


27 


26 


25 i 


1 ^^ 

J 


32 


33 


34 


35 


36 j 



Plat II. 



HOW LOCALITIES ARE GOVERNED 295 

Every township contains thirty-six sections, each a mile 
square. They are numbered, beginning in the northeast 
corner, according to the plan given in the second plat. 
Each section of 640 acres is divided, for homestead entry, 
into quarters. A quarter section has always been the size 
of a claim given by the government until the recent law 
permitting an entry on 320 acres, or two quarters of dry 
land, in some of the states further west. In Minnesota 
there is no such land. In order to describe a piece of prop- 
erty in legal papers it is customary to use the following 
scheme. Suppose that Township A be divided. We refer to 
the piece marked 40 acres as the N.E. J of the N.E. | of sec- 
tion I, Township 128, Range 20, and to the opposite 40 acres 
as the N.W. J of the N.E. J, etc., and to the piece marked 
80 as the S. I of the N.E. J ; and so on for other divisions. 

Township government. — A Minnesota township, when 
settled thickly enough to require a separate government, 
has three sets of officials. First, it has a board of super- 
visors, consisting of three trustees and a clerk ; second, 
it has a treasurer and two constables ; and third, it has two 
justices of the peace. The board of supervisors, or town 
board as it is usually called, meets regularly, to transact, 
through vote of its members, the business of the town, — ■ 
tax levying and re\iewing, Hcensing, borrowing money for 
improvements and managing these improvements, of which 
road and bridge making are the most important. This 
board, by vote of its members, makes laws that affect the 
township, but do not apply to any other township. These 
laws must be in accordance with the state law. The 
clerk of the board must keep all of its records, give notice 
to taxpayers of elections and meetings, and keep a check on 
the treasurer. 



296 HOW LOCALITIES ARE GOVERNED 

Once a year a town meeting is held, to which all of the 
voters are invited, and which discusses projects that the 
board cannot decide alone, — how much money to spend, 
how to get it, and other matters, generally financial. The 
board calls the voters together on other occasions for special 
advice. Hence the township affairs are never very far 
away from the taxpayers. The law-making power is 
thus in their hands rather than in the hands of the board, 
although the board passes certain needed measures. 

The law-enforcing power is in the hands of the board, 
since the president has no power apart from the board. 
The clerk, however, has a great deal of administrative 
work to do, as one may see by glancing through the state 
laws on the subject. The treasurer is not a member of 
the board, although he attends the meetings to report on 
the finances. He is under bond to keep the money of the 
town safely. Although he is separated from the board, 
he cannot be called the executive department of the town's 
government, since the board itself combines legislative 
and executive power. 

The constables are the policemen of the country, to see 
that the laws of state and town are enforced. They make 
arrests, serve papers, and carry out the will of the citizens 
regarding their well-being. 

The justices try cases that are not important enough 
for the district court. With the exception of being less 
formal, the procedure in a justice court is similar to that 
described on page 312. Justices make out papers of vari- 
ous kinds, perform the marriage ceremony, and try petty 
criminal cases. 

The election of township officers takes place on the first 
Tuesday in March, for a term of one year. Before the 



HOW LOCALITIES ARE GOVERNED 297 

election a caucus is held, at which officers are nominated. 
Sometimes there are two tickets. A sample reads thus : 



Citizen's Ticket 

r Peter Berg 

For Supervisors < Henry Jones 

. Peter Erickson 

For Clerk Richard Reiter 

For Treasurer Thomas Holder 

-r. ^ ^1, f Oscar Ketcham 

For Constables < ^„ , ^_^ . 

I Sidney Helps 

T. -r .• f Edward Bench 

For Justices ^ * , . o 

[ Alexis bcott 



On election day the polls are open from 9 : 00 to 5 : 00, 
or to 9 : 00 by vote of the board. The names of all voters 
are taken for a permanent record, and the voter may choose 
the caucus ticket or make one of his own. The candidate 
for each office receiving the largest number of votes is 
declared elected. 

School government. — One of the most important govern- 
ments to understand is that of the school, because it costs 
the most, $36 for every pupil, and because, aimed to fit 
people for life, it may do the most good or harm. And 
still people often show less interest in this government than 
in almost any other matter. 

School districts are either common, special, or independ- 
ent. If common, they are formed by the county commis- 
sioners, on petition of residents of a certain territory. This 
territory is not necessarily, nor generally, a village or town- 
ship. In fact, such a government may have several dis- 
tricts either wholly or partly within its borders, parts of 



298 HOW LOCALITIES ARE GOVERNED 

seven perhaps. Convenience is the ruling factor in marking 
off a district. 

In a common district a board of three administers 
affairs, and a treasurer holds and expends all funds. One 
member is president, one director, and one clerk. The 
board builds and furnishes schoolhouses, employs teachers, 
buys books, borrows money if necessary, and generally acts 
for the residents. On the third Saturday in July it calls 
the residents together in annual school meeting, to report 
what it has done, and to get directions for the coming year. 
At this meeting one member of the board retires, and an- 
other is elected to take his place. The meeting is con- 
trolled by the residents, who elect their chairman and secre- 
tary, and decide what tax they will levy, what improve- 
ments they will make, and what money they will borrow. 
The board acts according to the decision of the meeting. 
Although often more than half a man's tax is levied by 
this meeting, some citizens will not attend it unless there 
are signs of an exciting contest, usually over nothing 
more important than the election of the director. The 
teachers are supervised by the county superintendent, 
who visits the schools twice a year. 

In an independent district there is no annual meeting. 
Six, instead of three members of a board are elected, but 
only three leave ofhce at any one time, so that a permanent 
policy is guaranteed. This board has more power than a 
common school board, since it usually acts in towns and 
cities, where there is need of more responsibility. For 
instance, an independent board may erect buildings with- 
out a vote passed by a school meeting. It employs a 
superintendent of schools, who chooses his teachers, sub- 
ject to the board's approval. He also manages the school 



i. I 



HOW LOCALITIES ARE GOVERNED 299 

and supervises the teachers, subject to the approval of 
the board. 

A special district is created by the legislature, to lit the 
special need of a certain territory, and we need not discuss 
this further than to state that it is controlled by a board 
of six members, like an independent district. 

There are four classes of schools : rural, A, B, and C, 
according to their qualifications ; semigraded, graded, 
and high schools. Each class is under the eye of a special 
inspector, who works with the state superintendent of 
education. 

County government. — A county may be organized by 
the legislature at any time, but it must contain 400 square 
miles. County lines already established cannot be changed, 
unless by a majority vote of the electors in the counties 
affected. Most of the counties were organized before i860, 
but divisions of the larger counties are now being made. 
A glance at the map will show where we can expect to see 
new counties in the future. 

The officers of a county are either three or five 
commissioners, each elected • from a certain division of 
the county, auditor, treasurer, registrar of deeds, sur- 
veyor, coroner, superintendent of schools, attorney, sheriff, 
judge of probate, clerk of court, and court commissioner. 
The county commissioners are elected for four years 
each, but in different years, so that there are always 
experienced members of the board. These officers ap- 
point what assistants are necessary to look after the 
details of the office, — deputies, clerks, stenographers, and 
others. 

Duties of commissioners. — The commissioners meet 
regularly to transact business. This concerns matters of 



300 HOW LOCALITIES ARE GOVERNED 

such general interest as a township, village, or city could 
not well manage alone. The commissioners — 

1. Decide village and school district boundaries. 

2. Make and repair county roads. 

3. Provide and supervise jails, poorhouses, courthouses, 
and other buildings. 

4. Borrow money needed for improvements. 

5. Make appropriations of money for various purposes. 

6. Superintend county waterways, lake drains, and 
other similar improvements. 

7. Help to organize school districts and townships 
through powers explained by state law. 

The commissioners pass on the various matters that 
come before them, by majority vote, but they do not make 
laws as a township board does. Their powers are fully 
explained in the statutes. Since, however, they meet 
regularly as a voting body, they are thought of as a legis- 
lative body. 

The inside officers. — The more strictly executive offi- 
cers may be divided into two sections, although it must 
be understood that they are not so grouped by law. First, 
there is the ofhce force, — auditor, treasurer, and register 
of deeds. 

The auditor has very many duties, chief among which 
are the following : 

1. He keeps a record of the business done by the com- 
missioners. 

2. He files documents of various kinds. 

3. He supphes election material to the various precincts 
and keeps record of returns. 

4. He keeps a record of all highways, drains, and other 
county improvements. 



HOW LOCALITIES ARE GOVERNED 301 

5. He apportions school money. 

6. He issues warrants for payment by the treasurer. 

7. He keeps account of the poor. 

8. He records all tax assessments. 

The duties of the treasurer need not be defined. He is 
under bond to keep all county funds safe. The register 
of deeds files all records pertaining to real estate, so that 
titles may always be safe. These officers, with their depu- 
ties and clerks, whom they choose themselves, are execu- 
tives. 

The outside officers. — The other executives are in- 
vestigators of conditions in various parts of the county. 
The surveyor corrects boundary lines and furnishes plats 
for various purposes. The coroner investigates causes 
of sudden deaths. Often the coroner presides at an in- 
quest, or inquiry, in which a jury decides, after the evi- 
dence has been gathered, how a person came to his death. 
The superintendent of schools is the most important 
county officer, since he must visit the various schools con- 
stantly, and seek to bring them to a greater efficiency. 
The attorney tries all cases in which the state law is in- 
volved, and he issues warrants of arrest for the sheriff 
to serve. The sheriff makes arrests without warrants, if 
he sees that the law is being disregarded, and keeps the 
peace as does the constable or policeman. These officers 
of the second section are therefore busy outside of their 
offices for a great part of their time. 

The court officers. — The law-interpreting, or judi- 
cial department of the government, is represented in the 
county by three officers, the judge of probate, the clerk of 
court, and the court commissioner. The judge of probate 
presides over cases involving wills and disposition of property, 



302 HOW LOCALITIES iVRE GOVERNED 

the guardianship of children, examination regarding sanity, 
and matters that pertain to county and domestic Hfe in 
which the state criminal law is not concerned. The clerk 
of court keeps a record of all the district court's doings that 
pertain to his county. Court convenes in each county of 
the district as many times in a year as is necessary to do 
its business : and the clerk must attend. When there is 
no session, he may be consulted on all matters pertaining 
to its business. The court commissioner is a kind of judge 
serving between times. That is, he performs marriages, 
gives judicial papers, and acts otherwise in matters that 
the district judge would manage if he were present. He 
has certain powers of a district judge, but he does not con- 
duct trials. 

Village government. — There is very little difference 
between a village government and that of a township. 
This difference is due to the fact that the improvements 
— streets, sidewalks, water mains, lighting systems, parks, 
and public buildings — require more constant attention 
from the village council. The council consists of a presi- 
dent, three trustees, and a clerk, and is elected on the first 
Tuesday after the first Monday in March, for one year. 
A treasurer is elected for a similar term. The village council 
does not, however, receive its directions from a meeting of 
the villagers. It operates under legislative direction. It 
passes enactments, called ordinances, that are needed for 
the conduct and well-being of people who meet each other 
under so many conditions and in so different a manner 
from citizens of a rural community. 

City government. — Cities are governed variously in 
Minnesota, depending on the charters or constitutions which 
the legislature allows them. Nearly all of the cities of 



HOW LOCALITIES ARE GOVERNED 303 

the state elect councilmen, each from a separate district 
called a ward. Generally there are two aldermen from 
each ward. These representatives meet regularly, to 
manage the business of the city and make ordinances for 
the guidance of the people. The ordinances must not 
conflict with state laws, however. The president of the 
council in the smaller cities is mayor, but in the larger 
cities a mayor is elected, to represent the city on special 
occasions, to enforce the ordinances and state laws by means 
of his police force, and to act on various boards provided 
for by the council. A city attorney and city clerk are 
elected by the council, and perform the duties of the village 
attorney and clerk. A comptroller, whose duties are 
similar to those of the auditor, and a treasurer are elected 
with the mayor, but have no connection with him except 
as he may want advice. There are justices of the peace, 
if no municipal court is conducted. 

In the larger cities the municipal court convenes every day 
and hears cases that do not belong to the district court, — 
petty criminal cases involving a punishment of less than $100 
or three months' imprisonment. The greater number of 
these cases are of men accused of drunkenness and other 
misdemeanors of the street. Civil cases involving less than 
$100 are also tried here. 

The commission plan. — Several cities of the state, 
including St. Paul, Duluth, and Mankato, have adopted 
the commission form of government, in which the plan 
of modeling the city after the national government, and 
separating the three departments, law-making, law-inter- 
preting, and law-enforcing, is abandoned. Instead, a com- 
mission of five or seven men, elected, not from districts, 
but from the city at large, form a council. Each man is 



304 



HOW LOCALITIES ARE GOVERNED 



an executive, since he is held responsible for a certain 
department. For instance, one as head of a department 
of public safety manages the police and fire divisions, one 
is responsible for the pubUc health, one for public accounts, 
one for streets and pubHc grounds, and one perhaps for 







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St. Paul is one of the cities having a commission form of government. 



education. The first of these executives is the mayor, 
who represents the city and presides over the meetings 
of the council. 

These commissioners, or councilmen, choose experts to 
look after details, but are responsible for the conduct 
of the offices. 

In this way people beHeve that there is less HkeUhood 
of waste and inefficiency than under the ward and alder- 
man plan. The municipal court may be brought under 
a department of justice, or may be left free. 



I 



I 
I 



HOW LOCALITIES ARE GOVERNED 305 



SUMMARY 

Government is for the purpose of giving as much liberty to a person as 

possible, without interfering with his neighbor. 
There are three divisions of government. Name them and tell what 

each aims to do. 
The United States has divided the land of the state into townships. 
In each the state has provided for a government as follows : 
Executive : town board, including president, clerk, three directors, 

treasurer, constables. 
Legislative : town meeting, town board. 
Judicial : justices of the peace. 
Village government is much like township government. What 

difference is there ? 
A school district may be common or independent. 
The common school district is in the hands of a board of three, in- 
cluding : president, director, clerk. 
The independent school district has a board of six. 
County government is ordered as follows : 
Executive: commissioners, auditor, treasurer, sheriff, coroner, 

superintendent of schools, surveyor. 
Legislative : county commissioners. 
Judicial : judge of probate, county commissioner. 



STORY OF MINN. — 20 



CHAPTER XXVI 



THE STATE GOVERNMENT 



The departments. — By the state constitution, all the 
powers of government are divided into three distinct 
departments, — legislative, executive, and judicial, — and 
no person belonging to one of these departments is permitted 
to exercise power in any other. That is, the courts can- 
not control any executive ofhcer, nor can any executive 
officer interfere with the legislature. This does not pre- 
vent the departments from working together. The gover- 
nor advises the legislature what laws are needed, and the 
judges serve on commissions appointed by the legislature. 
But each department may only be advised or helped by 
another, never interfered with or dictated to. 

Senators and representatives. — The legislature con- 
sists of two branches — the Senate and the House of Repre- 
sentatives. There may be one senator for every 5000 
people, and one representative for every 2000 people. 
From time to time, as the number of inhabitants increases, 
a new apportionment is made, and the state is redistricted. 
At present the number of senators is 67 ; of representatives, 
130. Each of these goes from a certain district marked off 
on the map, sometimes containing more than a county, 
but in the more thickly settled parts of the state much 
less, according to the population. For instance, Koochi- 
ching, Itasca, Cass, and Aitkin counties in northern Minne- 
sota make one senatorial district, while the city of St. 

306 



I 



i 



THE STATE GOVERNMENT 307 

Paul is divided into six, Minneapolis into nine, and Duluth 
into two. 

Terms of office. — Representatives are elected for two 
years, senators for four. But only half the senators go 
out of ofhce at one time. This is to guarantee that there 
shall be at each session a number of men whose experi- 
ence and judgment will be of more value than the untrained 
opinion of newcomers. As a matter of fact, however, 
the guarantee is scarcely needed, for a large percentage of 
both representatives and senators are returned to office by 
their neighbors. Hence there is always a group in each 
house who have served several consecutive terms, and still 
another group who have been members in previous years. 

Organizing for business. — Each house makes its own 
rules, but in general the procedure is much the same. The 
first thing the House of Representatives has to do when it 
organizes is to appoint a speaker, its president. The Sen- 
ate is presided over always by the lieutenant governor, 
unless he appoints some one to take his place. In the 
event of his death the Senate appoints a member to be 
president. After the house is called to order by its pre- 
siding officer, the committees who are to consider various 
matters during the session are chosen, and necessary 
officers are appointed, including sergeant at arms, clerks, 
messengers, and stenographers, to help make the business 
run smoothly. Then the house is ready for the making 
and revising of laws. Similarly, the Senate organizes. 

Passing laws. — The progress of a bill through the legis- 
lature is interesting. First, it is printed by the member 
who is to offer it. Generally it has been discussed for 
months before the legislature meets, and often it has been 
read by thousands of citizens, many of whom have helped 



3o8 THE STATE GOVERNMENT 

to put it into the best form before it is offered for discus- 
sion. Of course this is not true of the bills affecting very 
few persons, or those suggesting slight changes in condi- 
tions. After being introduced, the bill is referred to a 
committee that has particularly in charge the subject that 
the bill discusses. The committee debates its merits. 
Often several sessions are given to hearing arguments for 
or against the bill. 

Here the real battle occurs. The bill may be amended 
in the committee room, perhaps by the author himself. 
Finally the committee sends it to the chamber, where it 
is read again and opened to debate if necessary. After it 
has been read three times, opposed and defended and often 
changed in form, a vote is taken, the members answering 
'' Aye "or " Nay," when their names are called by the 
clerk in alphabetical order. If a majority votes in its 
favor, the bill is sent to the other chamber, Senate or House 
of Representatives as the case may be, and the same process 
is repeated. Then it is signed by the governor if he ap- 
proves. If he does not, he must state his reasons within 
three days, and then the bill must be passed again and by 
a majority of two thirds of both houses before it can become 
a law. 

Bills originate in either branch of the legislature, except 
bills to raise revenue, all of which must be introduced first 
in the House of Representatives. ' This was determined 
upon as a safeguard to the people, for the house was thought 
closer to them than the Senate, and the money-spending 
power was one that should belong to the taxpayers. Some- 
times a committee made up of members from each branch, 
called a conference committee, works on a bill to make 
its passage easier. In fact, were it not for the committees, 



THE STATE GOVERNMENT 309 

the business of law making would be a very tedious and 
costly one. They stop much fooHsh legislation, and thus 
save the time of the session for what is worth while. 

The statutes and the constitution. — The laws, made 
and amended from time to time to suit changed ideas and 
conditions, form the statutes of Minnesota. They differ 
from the constitution in that they specify what shall or 
shall not be. The constitution, on the other hand, is a 
general statement of the rights of citizens, distribution 
of the powers of government with regulations as to the 
conduct of each, requirements of citizenship, control and 
expenditure of state funds, organization of local govern- 
ments, and some minor matters. Every citizen should 
be familiar with the constitution and the statutes of his 
state, — if not thoroughly, at least in a general way. 

Executive officers. — The executive department con- 
sists of the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of 
state, auditor, treasurer, and attorney-general, who are 
chosen at the general elections. These officers are not 
associated as are the President of the United States and his 
cabinet. Except in an advisory way they have nothing 
in common with each other, beyond doing for one another 
what is necessary for the conduct of business. As has 
been said, the lieutenant governor presides over the Senate 
and becomes governor in the absence or upon the death 
of a governor. All of these officers serve for two years, 
except the auditor, whose term is four years. This is 
because his duties are so many and so complex that a 
shorter term would scarcely allow him a chance to make 
headway. The officers swear to support the constitution 
of the United States and 'of Minnesota, and faithfully 
to discharge their duties to the best of their ability. 



3IO THE STATE GOVERNMENT 

What the governor does. — The governor sends to the 
legislature, as soon as he takes office in January, a message 
discussing the matters to which the legislature ought to 
pay attention. Like the President of the United States, 
he commands the military and the naval forces, which he 
may call out in case of trouble within the state. He 
appoints, from time to time, officers provided for by stat- 
utes. He may call the legislature to meet in extra ses- 
sion. He may require the opinion of each of the other 
executive officers upon any subject relating to the duties 
of that officer, and he ffils the vacancies in these offices, 
county offices, or others created by the legislature. As 
has been said, he signs all bills. Besides these duties the 
governor serves on many boards and commissions, and 
represents the state in public meetings and conferences- 

What other executives do. — The other executive officers 
are in charge of the daily business of the state. To aid 
them they employ many deputies, clerks, and other assist- 
ants. The secretary of state keeps a record of this busi- 
ness, as well as of all official deeds. He files papers of 
various kinds, including bonds of all state and county 
officers. He records all private and public corporations. 
In his charge are the volumes of law, the journals and other 
legislative records, and the United States surveys of Minne- 
sota. He is the manager of state elections and the final 
canvasser of the vote. All public printing, including the 
publication of the laws and the Legislative Manual, is done 
under his direction, and he disposes of all printed executive 
documents of the state. 

The auditor keeps a check on the treasurer, as does the 
county auditor on the county treasurer. He must keep 
a record of pubUc accounts, audit claims, and issue war- 



THE STATE GOVERNMENT 31 1 

rants for payment of all money that the treasurer dis- 
tributes, including the pay rolls of public institutions. He 
prepares tax blanks and keeps an account of state taxes. 
His report on all these matters must be very complete. 
With all of these duties, the auditor combines those of 
the land department. Under his direction all school and 
other state lands are sold or leased, and all products of 
these lands, such as grass, cranberries, maple sugar and 
royalties at twenty-five cents a ton for ore taken from 
the lands, are collected by him. He records all land 
contracts, deeds, and other papers connected with this 
business. 

The treasurer receives and pays all state money. He 
must specify the names of persons from whom the money 
is received, to whom it is paid, on what account, and the 
time of receipt and payment. He gives two receipts for 
money paid by the counties, — one to the county auditor 
and one to the treasurer. 

The attorney-general keeps all departments informed as 
to their powers, within the limits of certain laws that are 
passed from time to time. He gives opinions as to the 
rights of citizens, and of corporations under certain laws. 
For the state he acts as prosecutor of persons or corpora- 
tions who seek to work against the regulations imposed by 
the state law. But he does not act in cases where the 
question of common crime is involved, unless requested 
to do so by the attorney of the county where the crime was 
committed. His work is nearly all advisory. It is very 
important, however, for upon his action depends the gain 
or loss to the taxpayers of immense sums of money, as 
well as the gain or loss of the good or evil of certain laws 
to the citizens of the state. 



312 THE STATE GOVERNMENT 

The judges. — The judicial department is for the satis- 
faction of justice. It consists of a Supreme Court and dis- 
trict courts. There are nineteen judicial districts in 
the state. Hennepin and Ramsey counties form one 
district each ; the other districts contain more than one 
county each, according to its need. Hennepin has nine 
judges, Ramsey six, and the eleventh district, in which 
Duluth is, three ; in the other districts generally one judge 
can care for all the cases. 

The district judges are elected for terms of six years. 
They begin where the justices of the peace or municipal 
courts leave off, that is, with civil suits in which the amount 
in dispute is more than $ioo, and with criminal suits in 
which the punishment is more than three months' imprison- 
ment or a fine of more than $ioo. In criminal cases there 
is seldom any appeal from a district court, but civil suits 
are often sent from a district to the Supreme Court, where 
the finer matters of law can be thoroughly explained. 

How a case is conducted. — The process in a district 
court is very interesting. The judge sits on a platform 
surrounded by a wall about three feet high. In front of 
him sits the clerk, who announces the cases and keeps 
record of all the doings of the court. At one side is the 
jury box, and at the other seats for witnesses and the pris- 
oner. A little further in front are tables for the opposing 
lawyers. Outside of a railing are seats for the public. 
The judge's seat is called the bench, and the railing in 
front of his. desk the bar, hence we refer to the court as 
" the bench " and to the legal profession as " the bar." 

When court is ready to open, the bailiff announces 
the fact with these words : " Hear ye, hear ye, the court is 
now in session." Then the clerk reads, " The State of 



THE STATE GOVERNMENT 313 

Minnesota versus John Doe," or if a civil case, " John 
Doe versus Richard Doe." The attorney for the state 
in a criminal case, or for the plaintiff in a civil case, then 
opens his argument, sketching what he expects to prove. 
After this the evidence is presented. The evidence con- 
sists of articles, letters, books, or anything that will shed 
light on the actions or motives of the defendant, and the 
word of the witnesses. Each witness is called to the stand 
and asked questions by the attorney. The questions and 
answers are carefully taken down by a stenographer, and 
made a part of the court records for future reference. 

After the attorney for the state or plaintiff has ques- 
tioned the witness, the opposing attorney follows with 
some inquiries, to discover whether the witness is reliable 
or not. This is called the cross-examination. When the 
evidence has all been presented, each attorney sums up 
what has been offered in a closing argument to the jury, 
the " twelve good men and true " who have been chosen 
to hear the argument. Then the judge gives his charge 
to the jury, telling them what the crime consists of, and 
what their verdict should be if they find the evidence points 
in a certain direction. Similarly he suggests what their 
course should be if the case is civil. The jury then retires, 
in charge of a bailiff who must be responsible that no one 
talks to its members. They are confined to a room until 
they decide upon a verdict. The vote must be unanimous 
to be accepted. When the jury is ready to report, some- 
times after nearly a week of debate, generally only a few 
hours, a message is sent to the officers, court is convened, 
and the members of the jury take their seats. 

The judge then asks, " Gentlemen of the jury, have you 
arrived at a verdict? " 



314 THE STATE GOVERNMENT 

The foreman of the jury rises and replies, " We have, 
your Honor. We, the jury, find the defendant guilty 
(or not guilty)." Or, " We, the jury, find for the plaintiff 
(or defendant)." 

The judge then states the penalty to be paid. 

In the Supreme Court there is no jury. Five judges 
hear the evidence, and a majority of them decide the 
case. The clerk of the Supreme Court is elected for a four- 
year term, the judges for six years. 

The railroad and warehouse commission. — The rail- 
road and warehouse commission consists of three mem- 
bers, one of whom is elected by the people every two 
years, for a term of six years. These commissioners are 
expected to see that the railroads give required service, 
furnish connections, and make fair rates ; and that just 
weights and measures are given at the warehouses. They 
are supposed to represent the people of the state in their 
dealings with the railroads and elevator companies. Com- 
plaints are heard by them sitting as a court, and adjust- 
ments ordered. The companies or individuals may appeal 
to the courts from the decision of the commission, but this 
is seldom done. 

Appointed officers. — Besides the elected executive offi- 
cers, the legislature has provided for the appointment of 
several others. One is the public examiner, whose duty 
it is to inspect the books of corporations, to insure their 
obeying the laws in regard to their organization. A special 
examiner is called superintendent of banks. To guard 
the people of the state from bad insurance there is the 
commissioner of insurance. The state dairy and food 
commissioner tries to insure the people pure foods. The 
labor commissioner's work is to improve the conditions 



a I 



THE STATE GOVERNMENT 315 

under which men and women work in factories and 
stores. 

To command the militia, an adjutant general and his 
chief assistants are appointed. The state fire marshal's 
duties hardly need explanation. The state librarian is 
in charge of the state law library in the Capitol building. 
That building itself is in charge of a custodian, and an- 
other custodian manages the Old Capitol building. Chief 
among these officers is the superintendent of education, 
not only because of the great importance of the work which 
he supervises, but because of the fact that he has a great 
deal to do with the school funds, a princely fortune that 
must be in wise hands. These officials are salaried, for 
they devote all their time to the work. The state inspector 
of illuminating oils collects fees from the different corpora- 
tions, whose stock he is supposed to insure to the purchaser. 
Each officer, except the adjutant, names his deputies, clerks, 
stenographers, and other assistants. 

Boards for public institutions. — The legislature has 
from time to time created boards of from three to thirteen 
members, some serving with, and some without salary, 
according to the kind of service which they render. First, 
there is the group of boards having to do with various 
public institutions. The board of control, consisting of 
three salaried members, manages all the houses of correc- 
tion : the state prison at Stillwater ; the reformatory 
at St. Cloud ; the boys' and girls' schools at Red Wing and 
Sauk Center respectively ; the home for inebriates at 
Willmar ; and the insane hospitals at Rochester, St. 
Peter, Fergus Falls, Anoka, and Hastings. The board 
erects and equips buildings, employs officers, buys supplies, 
and handles all money appropriated for these institutions. 



3l6 THE STATE GOVERNMENT 

The board of regents consists of twelve members, includ- 
ing the governor, the superintendent of education, and the 
president of the State University. Like the board of con- 
trol it manages all university matters. Similarly one 
board controls the normal schools, now five in number, 
Winona, Mankato, Moorhead, St. Cloud, and Duluth ; 
the state schools for the blind and deaf and the Soldiers' 
Home at Minnehaha Park. In addition there is a board 
of parole to consider cases of prisoners whose freedom is 
recommended on their word of honor, a board of women 
visitors to inspect the girls' school at Sauk Center, and a 
board of visitors to inspect the other pubUc institutions 
and report on their condition. All the members of these 
boards are appointed by the governor. 

Development boards. — There are several boards that 
have to do with the development of the state. The state 
highway commission and the drainage commission, each 
consisting of the governor, auditor, and secretary of state, 
and the board of reclamation, seek to make all the land of 
the state productive. The boards of grain inspectors, one 
for Minneapolis, and one for Duluth, make the various 
grades of grain and strive to sustain a high standard for 
the state. The live-stock sanitary board assists the farm- 
ers to keep their stock in a healthy and hence profitable 
condition. The forestry board has already been referred 
to. Its secretary draws a salary and devotes his entire 
time to improving the forestry resources of the state. 

The game and fish commission, through various em- 
ployees, labors to keep Minnesota's reputation as a recrea- 
tion ground, by stocking the streams with fish and enforcing 
both fishing and hunting regulations. To assist this 
board and to preserve certain places for recreation the 



THE STATE GOVERNMENT 



317 



commissioners of state parks, one each for Itasca, Inter- 
state (St. Croix Dalles), Minneopa (near Mankato), Alex- 
ander Ramsey (near Redwood Falls), and Fort Ridgely 
(Yellow Medicine and Minnesota rivers), administer the 
properties under their control. With these boards that 










"^^^^•^•im^.^ 





Winter sports on Lake Winona. 

try to conserve and enhance the resources of the state, the 
bureau of immigration cooperates. It consists of the 
governor, secretary of state, auditor, and two appointed 
members, and employs a commissioner of immigration 
to advertise the opportunities for settlers that the state 
of Minnesota offers. 

Incorporated by the state are three societies that are 



3l8 THE STATE GOVERNMENT 

trying always to create sentiment for improvement, the 
State Agricultural Society, which holds the greatest State 
Fair in the Union at St. Paul every autumn ; the Minne- 
sota Horticultural Society, which cooperates in the fair 
but also holds a fruit discussion and exhibit each winter 
in Minneapolis ; and the Forestry Society, which simi- 
larly, through advertising and meetings, influences the 
people of the state to labor for forestry improvements. 
These official and semi-official bodies form an active brigade 
to further the interests of Minnesota. 

Boards of public health. — Still another group of boards 
is concerned with the public health There is the board of 
health itself, which employs a secretary to devote his entire 
time to improving the conditions under which the people of 
the state work, sleep, eat, and play. Cooperating with this 
board is the board of tuberculosis, and the advisory board 
for the sanitarium for consumption at Walker. Naturally 
the members of these boards are drawn from among the 
medical experts of the state, thus insuring to the people a 
scientific interest in preventing disease. 

Public service boards. — There are several other boards 
harder to group ; the board of arbitration, whose work is to 
help settle labor disputes ; the state board of accountancy, 
that furnishes expert guidance for financial operations ; the 
voting-machine commission, and the tax commission. The 
last-named is composed of three salaried members, who give 
their time to the study of taxation systems, and of local 
conditions, with the idea of benefiting Minnesota thereby. 
The board of investment, consisting of the governor, audi- 
tor, treasurer, president of the University, and superin- 
tendent of education, is responsible for the investment of 
the great state school and university funds. 



THE STATE GOVERNMENT 319 

To insure competent service to the people of the state, 
several boards of examiners meet regularly to question 
applicants for license to practice their profession or trade. 
These are the examiners for law, medicine, osteopathy, 
optometry, dentistry, veterinary medicine, nursing ; and 
those who pass upon applicants desiring to become bar- 
bers, electricians, horseshoers, and automobile operators. 

Boards to promote culture. — Finally, there are the 
boards that labor for the higher culture of the citizens. 
There are the Minnesota Library Commission and the 
governing board of the State Art Society, to which sufficient 
reference has been made. These, with the Minnesota 
State Historical Society, incorporated by the state and 
recognized as a semi-official organization, are active to 
expand and increase the interest of Minnesotans in some 
of the higher values of education. Last, but not least, is 
the state high school board, consisting of the president of 
the University, the superintendent of education, one mem- 
ber of the board of regents, and two appointed members. 
This board it is upon whose recommendations the income 
of the permanent school fund is apportioned to the two 
hundred high schools of the state, upon their showing fit- 
ness and efficiency. 

SUMMARY 

State government is divided as follows : 

Executive : — governor, auditor, treasurer, superintendent of 
education, clerk of the Supreme Court, boards of visitors and 
examiners. 

Legislative : — House of Representatives — speaker ; Senate — lieu- 
tenant governor. 

Judicial : — Supreme Court, district courts. 

Partly executive and partly judicial : — railroad and warehouse 
commissioners. 



CHAPTER XXVII 

DUTIES OF CITIZENS 

Who may vote. — Every citizen ought to know how to 
vote, before he has to vote. When he has reached the age 
of twenty-one, he may cast a ballot at any election, provided 
that he is a male citizen of the United States, if he is in his 
right mind, and if he has resided for six months in the state 
and thirty days in the precinct, or has been restored to 
civil rights after having committed a felony. Women 
vote for school officers and members of Ubrary boards. 

How to vote. — Voting in Minnesota, except for town- 
ship and village officers, is by the AustraHan system, that 
is, in a secret booth where only the voter goes, unless he 
needs some one to help him mark his ballot. He takes 
into the booth the different ballots and puts " X " opposite 
the names of the men he wishes to see elected. Below is 
the form of a ballot : 

For Governor 



A. B. 


Rep. 




C. D. 


Dem. 


X 


E. F. 


Pro. 





Other executive officers are voted for hkewise. 



320 



DUTIES OF CITIZENS 



321 



For County Commissioner 



G. H. 


Class I 


X 


I. J. 




K. L. 




M. N. 


Class II 




0. P. 


X 


X. R. 





Other county officers are grouped likewise. 



The class system is an arrangement by which candi- 
dates are given an equal chance on the ballot. Without 
some such plan the one whose name comes first is likely 
to be favored. But by allowing the candidates to choose 
what class they will go into, each is fairly treated. The 
list is thus broken up and the attention of the voter called 
to the individual names. 

This is at the general election, held on the first Tuesday 
after the first Monday in November. What is called the 
primary election is held on the third Monday in June. It 
is for the purpose of nominating men to go on the general 
election ballots. For the offices of governor and the other 
executives the man who receives the highest number of 
votes at the primary becomes the candidate of a certain 
party, Republican, Democratic, Public Ownership, Prohibi- 
tion, etc., and is so designated on the ballot at the Novem- 
ber election. For legislative candidates, county and local 



STORY OF MINN. 



21 



322 



DUTIES OF CITIZENS 



officers, there can be no party designation, and the two can- 
didates for each office who receive the highest number of 
votes at the primary are opposing candidates in November. 
Below is the form of a primary ballot : 



1ST Choice 



Governor 

Vote for i 2nd Choice — Vote for i 



A. B. 


X 




X 


C. D. 


. 


E. F. 





Treasurer 



G. H. 


X 


I.J. 


K. L. 


County Ticket 
Auditor 


M. N. 


X 


0. P. 


Q. R. 



Second-choice votes may also be given to candidates 
for state offices and Congress. They are counted when the 
first choice fails to nominate. So far they have not been 
very liberally given, not enough to change the result of 
a first-choice election. 

Balloting. — At an election a number of judges of elec- 
tion, not more than three, with clerks to keep a regular 



DUTIES OF CITIZENS 323 

record, inspect the persons asking to vote. It is neces- 
sary in the large cities for the voter's name to be regis- 
tered, on one of the dates set for this purpose, if he is to vote. 
In the rural districts registration can be made at the time 
of voting. The voter, having been proved eligible, is 
given his ballots and escorted to a closed booth, where he 
marks and folds them. When he comes out he hands the 
ballots to a judge, who deposits them in a closed box. 
When the voting is finished the ballots are counted and the 
returns tabulated and sent to the secretary of state, who 
keeps a permanent record of them. 

In each case a plurality, or any number of votes greater 
than that cast for his nearest opponent, elects a man to 
ofhce. 

Taxation — why necessary. — All of these services to 
the people cost money. The people must pay for their 
privileges, and it is fair that each should pay his share. 
Just what is a person's share has never been determined, 
because some people get more privileges than others, and 
some are able to pay more than others. The best way to 
collect from each person what he owes to the others for 
services of various kinds is to tax him, by some way or 
other, and to impose a punishment of some kind if he does 
not pay. No system of taxation has proved satisfactory 
yet, but the Minnesota tax commission is studying to make 
the present plan as fair as possible. By a recent law each 
person must pay taxes on 40 per cent of the value of his 
house and lot, farm, or other real estate. He must pay 
taxes on mortgages, stocks, and bonds, and on what the 
assessor believes is a fair valuation of his personal property. 
He may possess $200 worth of furniture, clothing, and 
other things, excepting such luxuries as jewelry, free of tax. 



324 DUTIES OF CITIZENS 

On other personal property he pays three per cent of his 
assessed valuation. 

How the money is divided. — The tax is di\'ided as 
follows : The state government decides how much money 
it needs to pay expenses, and how much its rate shall be. 
In Minnesota it is at present eight mills on the dollar. 
Then the county, city, village or township, and school 
district, each through its ofhcers, decides what is needed 
to pay its expenses, and makes a rate. These rates are 
then added and a statement is sent to each taxpayer, in- 
forming him what his valuation is declared to be by the 
assessor who has previously visited his home and inspected 
it for that purpose, what the total rate is, and what he 
owes. He is to pay one half the tax on or before May 
31, and the other half on or before October 31, or suffer 
a penalty of ten per cent additional tax. In case he does 
not pay after six months, his property is declared open 
for sale. He is given first chance to redeem it, but in case 
he does not within three years, any one who will give a suffi- 
cient sum to pay the taxes and expenses may own the prop- 
erty. The taxpayer is thus given every opportunity to 
meet his obligations to his neighbors. It is only in rare 
cases that a man who cares to save his property loses it. 

What a man gets for his money. — Next let us see what 
a citizen of Minnesota gets for his expenditure. Let us 
suppose that he is a farmer whose valuation is $10,000. 
The rate in his county is 16.10 mills, apportioned as fol- 
lows : 

Rate in Mills 

County 7-83 

.School 2.00 

Township (Road) 6.27 

16.10 



DUTIES OF CITIZENS 325 

Or suppose he lives in a city. His rate may then be 
32.83 mills, apportioned as follows: 

Rate in Mills 

County 7.83 

School 8.00 

City 17.00 

32.83 

Taking 40 per cent of his valuation, or $4000, and multi- 
plying it by 16.10 or by 32.83 mills, we get $64.40 or $131.32 
respectively. For this money the farmer or the city man 
receives : 

1. Guardianship for himself and family and his property, 
while he is asleep and awake. 

2. Protection of himself and family from contagious and 
infectious disease. 

3. Hospitals to care for and cure him and his family 
from illness, and to care for defective children. 

4. Regulation of all companies serving the public, so 
that they cannot overcharge him. 

5. Schooling for his children, to prepare them for the 
duties of citizenship, at a cost of over $30 a year for each 
child. 

6. Literary and artistic training, given by school, state, 
and local institutions supported by public tax. 

7. Roads and streets, often fine drives and boulevards, 
bridges at convenient places, state and local parks and 
recreation grounds, bathing beaches, resting places and 
beauty spots on rivers and lakes, supported by public tax. 

8. Public officials working to protect both him and his 
property. 

9. Courts and county and local institutions, to look after 



326 DUTIES OF CITIZENS 

his welfare and that of his family, and to protect his prop- 
erty. 

10. A state government, to plan for his improvement 
and the improvement of every citizen of the state. 

These are by no means all the advantages that a citizen 
of Minnesota buys with his $130 or his $60 of taxes, as the 
case may be. 

Perhaps that is the reason why so many people settle 
in Minnesota and work so hard for each other, and why so 
great an improvement in the conditions under which they 
work has taken place since 1858. 



DATES IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER 

1659-60 — Radisson and Groseilliers winter among the Dakota 

Indians in Minnesota. 
1680 — Father Hennepin names St. Anthony Falls and meets Du Luth. 
1689 — Nicholas Perrot claims Minnesota for France. 
1700 — Le Sueur establishes Fort L'Huillier on the Blue Earth, 
1763 — France cedes Minnesota to England and to Spain. 
1766 — Jonathan Carver explores the Mississippi and Minnesota 

rivers. 
1803 — Napoleon Bonaparte sells Minnesota to the United States. 
1820 — Fort Snelling is begun. Governor Lewis Cass explores the 

upper Mississippi. 
1832 — Schoolcraft explores the headwaters of the Mississippi. 

1836 — Joseph Nicollet makes important geographical notes on 

Minnesota. 

1837 — The Indian lands east of the Mississippi and St. Croix are 

opened, and settlers enter Minnesota. 
1841 — St. Paul is established as a village. 

1848 — St. Anthony (Minneapolis) is platted. 

1849 — On March 3 Minnesota is organized as a territory. 

1 85 1 — The Treaty of Traverse des Sioux opens the lands west of the 
Mississippi. 

1857 — Minnesota suffers from a financial panic. 

1858 — On May 11 the state is admitted to the Union. 

1861 — Minnesota is the first state to offer troops for the defense of 

the Union. 

1862 — The Dakotas attempt to drive the whites from the state. The 

Wm. Crooks pulls the first train from St. Paul to St. 
Anthony. 
1866-1872 — The state experiences a period of great prosperity. 

1872 — LaCroix introduces the middlings purifier, thereby stimulating 

the flour industry. 

1873 — A cold winter is followed by a plague of grasshoppers and 

another financial panic. 

1876 — On September 7 the James and Younger brothers make an 

unsuccessful attempt to raid Northficld. 

1877 — The state decides to convene its legislature once in two years. 
1878-1889 — The state enjoys another prosperous period. Iron is 

mined. 

327 



328 DATES IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER 

1889 — The Australian ballot system is introduced. The first electric 

cars are operated, in Stillwater and in MinneapoHs. 
1892 — The Repubhcan National Convention nominates Benjamin 

Harrison at Minneapolis. 
1894 — Four hundred lives and much property are destroyed by a 

forest fire in the vicinity of Hinckley. 
1901 — At the Pan-American Exposition, Minnesota is called "The 

Bread and Butter State." 
1903 — A wave of immigration sweeps over the western and northern 

counties. 
1905 — The legislature convenes in the new Capitol building, erected 

at a cost of $3,000,000. 
1908 — With an attendance of 326,753 at the State Fair, Minnesota 

celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of its admission to the 

Union. 
1910 — A $25,000,000 forest fire wipes out the towms of Spooner and 

Baudette. Minnesota becomes the leading iron state in 

the Union. 
191 2 — The legislature enacts a new primary law and corrupt practices 

act. 
1915 — The county option law is passed, and most of the counties 

vote out the saloon. 



APPENDIX 



GOVERNORS OF MINNESOTA SINCE ADMISSION TO STATEHOOD 



Names 


P. 0. Address 


County 


Assumed Office 


Henry H. Sibley 

Alexander Ramsey 

Henry A. Swift 

Stephen Miller 

William R. Marshall 

Horace Austin 

Cushman K. Davis 

John S. Pillsbury 

Lucius F. Hubbard ' 

A. R. McGill 

William R. Merriam 

Knute Nelson 

David M. Clough 

John Lind 


St. Paul 

St. Paul 

St. Peter 

Worthington 

St. Anthony 

St. Peter 

St. Paul 

St. Paul 

Red Wing 

St. Peter 

St. Paul 

Alexandria 

Minneapolis 

New Ulm 


Ramsey 

Ramsey 

Nicollet 

Nobles 


May 24, 1858 
January 2, i860 
July 10, 1863 
January 11, 1864 


Hennepin 

Nicollet 

Ramsey 

Ramsey 

Goodhue 

Nicollet 

Ramsey 

Douglas 

Hennepin 

Brown 


January 8, 1866 
January 9, 1870 
January 7, 1874 
January 7, 1876 
January 10, 1882 
January 5, 1887 
January 9, 1889 
January 4, 1893 
January 31, 1895 
January 2, 1899 


Samuel R. VanSant 

John A. Johnson 

Adolph 0. Eberhart 

Winfield S. Hammond 


Winona 

St. Peter 

Mankato 

St. James 


Winona 

Nicollet 

Blue Earth 

Watonwan 


January 7, 1901 
January 4, 1905 
Sept. 21, 1909 
January 5, 191 5 



UNITED STATES SENATORS 



James Shields, Democrat: May 12, 1858, to March 3, 1859 
Henry M. Rice, Democrat: May 12, 1858, to March 3, 1863 
Morton S. Wilkinson, Republican: March 4, 1859, to March 3, 1865 
Alexander Ramsey, Republican: March 4, 1863, to March 3, 1875 
Daniel S. Norton, Republican: March 4, 1865. died July 13, 1870 
William Windom, Republican: July 16, 1870, to January 18, 1871 
O. P. Stearns, Republican: January 18, 1871, to March 3, 1871 
William Windom, Republican: March 4, 1871, to March 12, 1881 
S. J. R. McMillan, Republican: March 6, 1875, to March 3, 1887 
A. J. Edgerton, Republican: March 14, 1881, to October 26, 1881 
William Windom, Republican: October 26, 1881, to March 3, 1883 
D. M. Sabin, Republican: March 4, 1883, to March 4, 1889 
C. K. Davis, Republican: March 4. 1887, to November 27, 1900 
W. D. Washburne, Republican: March 4, 1889, to March 4. 1895 
Knute Nelson, Republican: March .), 189.=;. to March 4. ion 
Charles A. Townc, Democrat: December 5, 1900, to January 2,!,, lyoi 
Moses E. Clapp, Republican: January 23, 1901, to March 4, 1917 

329 



INDEX 



Abercrombie, Fort, 158, i6g, 170 
Act of Congress, 43, 97, 131, 137 
Acton, 162 

Agricultural betterment, 252 
Agricultural College, State, 194 
Agricultural products, 247-250 
Agricultural Society, State, 112, 

318 
Agriculture {see Farming) 
Aitkin, 78, 263 
Aitkin County, 306 
Aitkin, David, 82 
Aitkin, William, 96 
Akers, Frederick, 76 
American Fur Company, 51, 65, 72 

81, 83, 85 
Anoka, 75. 125, 195, 224, 266, 315 
Anoka County, 218 
Art, 285, 319 
Art Society, State, 287 
Assiniboine River, 14, 31 
Assiniboins, 14, 18, 25 
Astor, William, 80 
Austin, 219 
Austin, Horace, 201, 202, 203, 204, 

211 

Banking, 269 

Battle Lake, 171 

Baudette, 260 

Beauharnois, Fort, 29 

Beltrami, Count, 70 

Benton County, 102 

Benton, Lake, 72 

Biglow Papers, 66 

Big Stone Lake, 35, 63, 219 

Birch Coulee, 168, 169, 170 

Blizzard, The famous, 216 

Bloomington, 152 

Blue Earth County, 246 

Blue Earth River, 28, 72 

Bois bride, 62 



189, 



Boom, The, 126, 219, 233 

Boutwell, W. T., 58, 66, 76, in 

Brainerd, 18, 224, 226, 263 

Breck, L., in 

Breckenridge, 137, 200 

Brown, 78 

Brown County, 126, 218 

Brown, Joseph R., 89, 91, 96, 107, 144, 

154, 157 
Burt, Henry, 237 



Calhoun, Lake, 56, 59, 75, 152 
Cannon River, 210 
Capitol, State, 105, 117, 235, 287 
, 80, Carleton College, 189 
Carver, 200 
Carver grant, The, 36 
Carver Jonathan, 30-35 
Carver's Cave, 34, 50, 90 
Cass County, 306 
Cass Lake, 67, 69, 289 
Cass, Lewis, 53, 65, 66 
Castle Rock, 72 
Catlin, George, 73 
207, Cavanaugh, J. N., 131 

"Central House," 103, 105 

Cheyenne River, 80 

Chickamauga, 178, 244 

Chippewa River, 36, 80, 92 

Chippewas, 12, 14, 18, 19, 21, 25, 30, 

48, 51. 55, 56, 58, 66, 69, 75, 76, 83, 

159, 160 
Chippewa war, 245 
Chisago County, 218 
Chisholm, 260 
Christian, George H., 231 
Choteau, Pierre, 80 
Churches, 58, 61, 76, in, 149, 153, 227, 

229, 283 
Church Hfe, 227 
Civil War, The, 162, 165, 176-184, 197, 

235 
330 



INDEX 



33^ 



Climate, 28, 35, 61, 191 
Cloudman, Chief, 117, 152 
Colleges (see Education) 
Columbia Fur Company, 36, 72, 80 
Colville, Colonel, 180 
Congress (see Act of Congress) 
Constitution, State, 30Q 
Constitutional convention, 130 
Coon Creek, 266 
Cooper, Judge, loi 
Cottonwood River, 121 
Coureurs de bois, 31, 32, 78 
Crawford County, 60, 92 
Crawford, Fort, 49, 72 
Crees, 12, 30 
Cretin, Bishop, iii 
Crooks, Ramsey, 80 
Crow Wing, 69 
Crow Wing River, 48, 84, 125 
Cuyuna Range, 263 

Dakota, 91, 95 

Dakota County, 95 

Dakotas, 9, 10-16, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 
28, 30, 31, 36, 47, 48, 50, 51, 55, 66, 
72, 75, 83, 8s, 153, 154, 155, 157, 
159, 160, 165, 174, 178, 179 

Danes, 132 

Dates to Remember, 327-328 

Davis, Cushman K., 239, 240, 244 

Des Moines River, 36, 37, 80 

Desnoyer, Stephen, 96 

Dickson, Captain, 48, 51 

Dog trains, 134 

Donnelly, Ignatius, 176, 198, 211, 240 

Douglas County, 218 

Du Luth, 25 

Duluth, 78, 135, 194, 195, 196, 198, 200, 
213, 220, 227, 232, 234, 243, 262, 264, 
26s, 268, 276, 282, 303', 307, 316 

Dunnell, Mark H., 210 

Dunwoody, William, 288 

Duties of citizens, 320-326 

Eastman, Dr. Charles, 22, 77, 152 
Eatonville, 59 

Edgerton, Commissioner, 205 
Education, 104, 143, 188, 210, 237, 273- 

279 
Elk Lake, 69 
Elk River, 125, 139 
Ely, E. T., 76 



Emerson, Dr., 58 

Executive officers, 309, 3 10-3 11 

Failure of 1857, 127 

Faribault, 78, 137, 149, 195, 202, 278 

Faribault, Jean, 46 

Farmers' Club, The, 254 

Farming, 53, 59, 61, 108, 133, 152, 154, 

192, 209, 215, 225, 245, 251 
Featherstonhaugh, George, 73 
Fergus Falls, 315 
Fillmore County, 218 
Flandreau, Charles, 166 
Flour manufacturing, 54, 112, 231-232 
Folwell, William W., 188, 237 
Fond du Lac, 15, 25, 36, 65, 66, 78, 79, 

80, 234, 264 
Forest City, 169, 170 
Forestry, 256-258 
Forestry Society, 318 
Fox (Indians), 30 
Fox-Wisconsin route, 34, 36, 204 
Fremont, John C, 72 
Frontenac, 29 
Fur trade {see also Traders), 12, 31, 36, 

51, 65, 68-69, 83 

Galbraith, Thomas F., 158 

Galtier, Father Lucien, 90, iii 

Game, 20, 28, 123 

Gear, Father, 58, iii 

Germans, 125, 126, 132, 187 

Gettysburg, 178, 184 

GilfiUan, James, 21 

Ginseng, 128 

Gladstone, 234 

Glencoe, 194, 200 

Goodhue County, 218 

Goodhue, James, 98, 99, 112, 119, 122 

Goodrich, Judge, loi 

Good Thunder, 175 

Gorman, Willis A., 145, 177 

Government, by commission, 303 

City, 302 

County, 299 

of localities, 292-319 

of Minnesota, 60 

School, 297 

State, 306-319 

Township, 295 

X'illagc, 302 
Grand Portage, 36, 37, 69, 72, 79 



332 



INDEX 



Grange, National, 207-208 
Granite Falls, 35 
Grasshopper plague. The, 192 
Groseilliers, 9, 11, 18 
Growth of Minnesota, 102, 114, 124, 132, 
133, 141, 186, 209, 221, 289 

Haines, Lynn, 282 

Hall, H. P., 198 

Hamline Universit3% 144, 189 

Hardships {see also Pioneer life), 13, 37, 

68, 190 
Harriet, Lake, 58, 75 
Hastings, 27, 142, 200, 241, 315 
Hazlewood Republic, 153 
Hennepin County, 112, 128, 189, 195, 218 
Hennepin, Father, 17, 22, 23-25 
Hiawatha, 66, 73 
Hibbing, 263 
Higbie, Mrs., 280 
Hill, James J., 219 
Hinckley, 259 
Hole-in-the-day, 165 
Hopkins, 234 

Horticultural Society, Minnesota, 318 
Houston County, 218, 246 
Hubbard, Lucius, 180, 240 
Hudson's Bay Company, 17, 31, 36, 41, 

61, 78, 81 
Huggins, Alexander, 58 
Hughes, Thomas, 28 
Hurons, 1 1 
Hutchinson, 169, 170, 173 

Iberville, Sieur d', 28 

Indian life, 20, 69 

Indians {see under the several tribes) 

Indian warfare, 55, 165, 245 

Inkpaduta, 156, 157 

Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, 288 

lowas, 18 

Iron, 226, 261 

Iroquois, 10, 11, 16 

Isanti County, 218 

Itasca, 207 

Itasca County, 102, 306 

Itasca, Lake, 66, 69, 71 

Izatys, 25 

Jackson, 157 

Jackson, Henry, 90, 120 

James brothers, TJic, 236, 237 



Johnson, John A., 284 • 

Jones, Robinson, 162 

Kanabec County, 16 

Kandiyohi, 107, 136, 149 

Kandiyohi County, 107, 108, 169, 218 

Kaposia, 76, 95 

Kaposias, 153 

Kellej', Oliver, 207, 208 

Kensington, 9 

Kiehle, David, 237 

Knott, James Proctor, 195, 213 

Koochiching County, 306 

Lac qui Parle, 76, 80, 152, 221, 222 

Lac qui Parle County, 221 

La Crescent, 137, 140, 200 

La Croix, N., 231 

Lake of the Woods, 72 

Lamberton, 274 

Land, Locating, 293 

Land, Railroad, 137, 203 

Land tax, 323 

Land values, 43, 107, 117, 126, 142, 221, 

247 
La Perriere, 29 
Larpenteur, A. L., 96 
La Salle, 22, 23, 25 
Lea, Luke, 115 
Leavenworth, Henry, 53 
Leech Lake, 48, 66, 76, 80, 245 
Legislation, Minnesota, 103, 210, 238, 

260, 280 
Le Sueur, 27—28, 120 
Lesueur River, 28 
L'Huillier, Fort. 28 

Librarj' Commission, Minnesota, 287, 319 
Life, Farm {see also Pioneer Hfe), 252 
Life in Minnesota, 28, 56, 92, 99-100 
Life, Soldiers', 180-184 
Liquor traffic, Prohibiting, 105 
Little Crow, 47, 66, 117, 153, i54, 164, 

166, 169-173 
Little Falls, 224 
Long, Major, 49, 50, 70, 72 
Louisiana Purchase, 41-43 
Lumber manufacturing, 54, 92, 109, 142, 

223-225, 256 

Macalester College, 146, 189 
McGill, .\ndrew R., 240 
McGiUis, Hugh, 48 



«l 



II 






INDEX 



333 



McLcod County, 2tS 
McLchkI, Martin, 104 
MacMillan, S. J. R., 240 
Madelia, 237 
Madison, 221 
Mandans, 9, 31 

Mankato, 28, 90, 120, 136, 137, 167, 169, 
175, 188, 193, 195. 220, 237, 283, 289, 

303 
Mankato, Chief, 166, 169, 172 
Manual training, 275 
Manufacturing, 194, 231, 266 
Mapleton, 120 
Marine, 91, 109 
Marsh, Captain, 159, 165, 166 
Marshall County, 218 
Marshall, William R., 143, 149, 180, 197. 

211 
Martin County, 218 
Maurepas, Fort, 30 
Mdewakantons, 18, 19, 84, 117 
Medary, Samuel, 145 
Meeker County, 108, 218 
Meeker, Judge, loi 

Mendota, 58, 60, 66, 81, 95, 117, 137, i74 
Merriam, WilUam R., 240 
Mesabi Range, 226, 227, 261, 263, 269 
Milaca, 224 

Mille Lacs, 12, 14, 20, 23, 25 
Miller, Stephen, 180 
Mining {see also Iron), 27, 226 
Minneapolis {see also St. Anthony), 54, 

55, 58, 75, 104, 126, 137, 142, 186, 

194, 198, 213, 219, 220, 224, 231, 

233, 243, 266, 269, 282, 288, 307, 316, 

318 
Minnehaha Falls, 147 
Minnehaha Park, 266, 316 
Minneopa, 317 
Minneopa Falls, 289 
Minnesota Historical Society, 48, 104, 

135, 146,^ 173, 288, 319 
Minnesota River, 18, 20, 28, 35, 36, 46, 

47, 53, 54, 63, 70, 72, 76, 115, 120, 

214, 218, 247, 289 
Minnesota Territory, 96, 97 
Minnetonka, Lake, 20, 58, 123 
Missionaries {see also Churches), 76, iii, 

227 
Mississippi River, 9, 11, 23, 34, 35, 36, 37, 

41, 44, 47, 49, 60, 65, 66, 69, 71, 119, 

142 



Missouri River, 9, iS, 174 
Monuments, 180, 184 
Moorhead, 200 
Morrison, 78 
Morrison, Clinton, 288 
Morrison, William, 69 
Morse law, The, 205-207 
Mounds, Indian, 90 
Mower County, 218, 246 
Music, 286 

Nadouissioux, 12 

Neill, Edward D., 146 

New Brighton, 234 

Newport, 234 

Newspapers, 112, 197 

New Ulm, 126, 166, 167 

Nicollet County, 218 

Nicollet Island, 47, 177 

Nicollet, Joseph, 70, 72, 82 

Normal schools, 316 

Norman County, 218 

Northfield, 189, 195 

Northfield raid, The, 235-236 

Northrup, Anson, 93 

Northrup, Cyrus, 237, 277 

North St. Paul, 234 

Northwestern Fur Company, 36, 41, 78- 

80 
Northwest Territory, 43, 58, 60, 131 
Norton, Daniel A., 211 
Norwegians, 125, 132 

Oak Grove, 76 

O jib was {see Chippewas) 

Olmstead, David, 103 

Olmsted County, 218 

Omahas, 18 

Ordinance of 1787, 42 

Other Day, John, 153, 157 

Ottawas, II 

Ottertail County, 218 

Owatonna, 140, 195, 202, 239, 279 

Panics, 127, 201, 243 
Parks, State, 289 
Parrant, Pierre, 89 
Pembina, 36, 61, 135, 148, 214 
Pembina County, 102 
Penicault, 28 

Pepin, Lake, 25, 27, 29, 36, 45, 40, 84, 95, 
213, 235 



334 



INDEX 



Perrot, Nicholas, 25, 26 

Pettit, Curtis H., 112 

Phalen, Edward, g6 

Phelps, W. W., 131 

Pigeon River, 78, 80 

Pig's Eye, 46, 90 

Pike, Zebulon, 43-48 

Pillager (Indians), 245 

Pillsbury "A" mill, 54 

Pillsbury, John S., 239 

Pine County, 259 

Pioneer life {see also Farming), 109, 112, 

122, 190, 216 
Pond brothers. The, 59, 75, 77 
Pond, Gideon H., 59, 75, 76, 118, 152 
Pond, Samuel W., 20, 75, 76, 77, 153, 156 
Portage, A, 38 
Prairie du Chien, 26, 36, 41, 44, 49, 53, 

57, 60, 63, 66, 135, 139, 142 
Prairie Island, 1 1 
Prescott, 78 

Prescott, Philander, 59, 152 
Products, Manufactured, 270 

Radisson, Pierre, 9-17, 18, 32 
Railroad commissioners, 205 
Railroad construction. Extent of, 200 
Railroads, 136, 138, 201-205, 219 
Rainy Lake, 30 

Rainy River, 41, 63, 72, 78, 247, 256 
Ramsey, Alexander, loi, 102, 115, 118, 

135, 138, 145, 146, 168, 176, 211, 284 
Ramsey County, 102, 195 
Randall, Camp, 244 
Ravoux, Father, 95, iii 
Red Cedar Lake, 69 
Red Iron, Chief, 117 
Red Lake, 70, 80 
Red Lake reservation, 246 
Red River, 14, 37, 63, 70, 72, 117, 170, 

204, 214, 218 
Red River carts, 134 
Red River Valley, 61, 98, 187, 210, 213, 

215, 219, 246, 250, 265 
Red Rock, 76, 95 
Red Wing, 11, 95, 142, 144, 175, 195, 210, 

279, 315 
Red Wing, Chief, 46, 66 
Redwood County, 289 
Redwood Falls, 174, 317 
Redwood River, 164 
Renville, 78 



Renville County, 218 

Renville, Joseph, 44, 72, 8c5, 81 

Representatives, House of, 306, 307, 308 

Revolutionary War, 36, 41, 60, 162 

Rice, 78 

Rice, Henry M., 81, 131, 145, 146, 147, 

148 
Ridgely, Fort, 157, 158, 165, 166, 167, 

169, 317 
Riggs, Doctor, 76, 77, iii, 152, 153 
Ripley, Fort, 158, 160 
Rochester, 137, 195, 202, 235, 315 
Rolette, Joseph, 148 
Rondo, Joseph, 96 
Root, Engineer, 259 
Roseau, Pierre, 44 
Rum River, 54, 94, 223 

Sabin, D. M., 240 

Sacs, 20, 30 

St. Anthony, 48, 92, 94, 95, 104, 109, iii, 
112, 113, 119, 126, 127, 137, 138, 
142, 145, 177, 186 

St. Anthony Falls, 23, 34, 47, 48, 49, 50, 
142, 266 

St. Anthony, Fort, 52 

St. Antoine, Fort, 25 

St. Charles, Fort, 30 

St. Cloud, 130, 188, 195, 224, 23s, 239, 
280, 315 

St. Croix County, 92 

St. Croix, Dalles of the, 289, 317 

St. Croix Falls, 80, 91, 92, 266 

St. Croix, Monsieur, 27 

St. Croix River, 27, 47, 49, 84, 91, 95, 223 

St. Francis River, 35 

St. Louis Park, 234 

St. Louis River, 264, 266 

St. Paul, 23, 36, 46, 58, 63, 81, 89, 90, 92, 
99, loi, 103, 104, 109, III, 113, 120, 
130, 134, 135, 136, 137, 140, 142, 
148, 149, 151. 176, 189, 195, 208, 
213, 233, 243, 283, 303, 306 

St. Peter, 117, 235, 315 

St. Peters (Minnesota) River, 46 

St. Pierre, Fort, 30 

St. Vincent, 137, 200 

Sandy Lake, 36, 48, 65, 66, 68, 76, 79, 80 

Sauk Center, 279, 315, 316 

Sauk Rapids, 136, 140, 200, 235 

Scandinavians, 229 

Schoolcraft, Henry R., 65-69 



INDEX 



335 



School funds, 23S, 27,^, .^tq 

Schools (sec Education) 

Scotch, The, 61, 62 

Scott, Dred, 58 

Selkirk, Lord, 61, 63 

Senate, 306, 307, 308 

Senecas, 26 

Settlements, 95, 120, 187, 214, 225 

Shakopee, 76, 140, 174, 175 

Shakopee, Chief, 55, 56, 117 

Sherburne County, 207 

Shields, James, 131, 146 

Sibley, 78 

Sibley County, 218 

Sibley, Henry H., 58, 60, 71, 76, 81, 85, 

89, 95, 96, loi, 118, 131, 149, 155, 

168, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174 
Sioux {see Dakotas) 
Sissetons, 18, 115 
Slavery, 131 
Sleepy Eye, 175 
Sleepy Eye, Chief, 117 
Snelling, Fort, 49, 51, 52, 53-64, 87, 91, 

139, 146, 177, 180, 24s 
Snelling, Josiah, 53, 66 
Social improvement, 283 
Soldiers, 184 
South St. Paul, 268 
Spanish-American War, 243-244 
Speculation, 113 
Spooner, 260 
Springfield, 157 
Stagecoach, The, 113, 134 
Stanchfield, Daniel, 94 
Steamboats, 56, 120 
Stearns County, 218 
Steele, Franklin, 91, 92, 144, 146, 147, 

148 
Stevens, Jedediah, D., 76, iii 
Stevens, John H., 112, 169 
Stillwater, 92, 93, 104, 109, 113, 137, 177, 

194, 195, 223, 224, 280, 315 
Superior, Lake, 15, 34, 37, 79, 142, 289 
Swan River, 48 
Swedes, 132 
Swiss, The, 63, 76, 87, 89 

Taliaferro, Major, 55, 58, 60, 66, 75 

Territory, Minnesota, 95, 96, 97 

Tetons, 18 

Tower, 226 

Traders {sec also Fur trade), 117, 158 



Transportation, 12, 29, 37, 63, 133, 26S 

Traveling Hail, Chief, 153 

Traverse des Sioux, 36, 72, 73, 80, 115 

Traverse, Lake, 36, 37, 63, 80, 117 

Treaties, 47, 83, 115 

Truelson, Henry, 282 

Tuttle, Calvin, 92 

Two Harbors, 227 

Tyler, Hugh, 118 

University of Minnesota {see also Edu- 
cation), 104, 143, 188, 210, 237, 276- 
278, 316 

Upham, Warren, 16 

Utica, 139 

Van Cleve, Charlotte, 54, 56, 57 
Verandrye, Captain, 30, 31 
Vermilion Range, 226, 261 
Vermilion River, 72 
Villard, Henry, 219 
Vincent, George E., 277 
Virginia, 263 
Voting, 320 
Voyageurs, 32, 37 

Wabasha, 95, 109, 142 

Wabasha, Chief, 44, 50, 66, 117, 172, 

175 
Wabasha County, 102, 109 
Wacouta, Chief, 117 
Wahnota County, 102 
Wahpekutes, 18, 19, 117, 156 
Wahpetons, 18, 115 
Walker, 318 
Walker Gallery, 288 
Walker, Thomas B., 142 
Washburn "A" mill, 235 
Washington County, 102, 218 
Watab, 108, 112, 113, 125, 136 
Water power, 266 
Welshmen, 9, 120 
Western Farm and Village Association, 

108, 126 
Wheelock, Joseph, 197 
Whipple, Bishop, 149 
White Bear Lake, 2or 
White Earth River, 97 
Wilkin, Alexander, 180 
Wilkinson, Major, 245 
William Crooks, The, 138 
William, Fort, 72, 79 



336 



INDEX 



Williamson, T. S., 58, 76, 77, iii, 152 

Willmar, 107, 126, 315 

Winchell, Newton H., 226 

Windom, William, 211, 240 

Winnebago, 200 

Winnebagoes, 30 

Winona, 140, 142, 202, 213, 220 

Winona County, 195, 218 

Winona Normal School, 143 



Winona, Story of, 45 
Worthington, 195, 200 - 
Wright County, 218 
Wyoming, 135 

Yanktons, 18, 115 
Yellow Medicine County, 171 
Yellow Medicine River, 169 
Younger brothers, The, 236, 237 



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